Memories from Yet to Come
by Rob4133
Summary: Naruto is confused with strange memories and experiences that aren't his own. At least he doesn't think so. It will lead him on a journey that no one expected but will his destination be the same? Kekkei genkai Naruto. Strong/smart Naruto. M rating for safety. No yaoi; no harem; Slight x-overs
1. Chapter 1

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Memories from Yet to Come

**A.N. This is my first fanfic. This will probably be my longest authors note in this story but I will be keeping everyone updated on new stuff. I put basis for what the story is about at the end of this chapter. I didn't want to give anything away in case some people like surprises but if you want to figure out the general idea of the story before you read, skip to the end. Also, my computer crashed so I'm doing all this at my parents house so updates won't be coming every day. I'm expecting one to day updates a week. **

**This will be a strong/smart Naruto. Pairings are undecided at the moment but suggestions are always welcome. Please try and give some input on why said pairings would be good other than "she has big boobs" or "cuz shez so awsomz". It will also not be a harem. I know that a lot of people like them, but it's just not my interest.**

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for knighthood"**

**Comments and reviews are most welcome!**

Naruto was jumping from rooftop to rooftop. It was the worst day of the year for him, his birthday. He wasn't nearly as helpless now as he was a few years ago though. He had learned some things from the academy despite everyone thinking him incapable. With him being able to evade ANBU on a daily basis, it spoke for something of his skills, or a decline of theirs which wasn't very likely.

The eleven year old dodged the larger crowds all together, not taking anything for granted. One lucky person spotting him would alert people to his presence, and there were always drunk shinobi around on his birthday. He loved this feeling though. He imagined that this is what it would feel like on a real mission. As careful as he was being though, nothing could have prepared him for what happened next. He had just jumped atop a three story abandoned building when a bright flash of light seemed to sear his eyes. He saw an older man resembling the fourth hokage in front of him.

"Well, at least I didn't screw this up too much," the yondaime look alike said seemingly to himself. "But I was hoping we'd be separate so I could help you. But maybe this is for the better." The other figure looked at Naruto with sadness and familiarity. "A lot doesn't make sense now, and I don't know how much you'll remember at first, but just know that you're never alone." Naruto looked into the eyes of the older figure and found no deception before it all became too much and he passed out.

An ANBU with a boar mask found the boy on the roof of a vacant building. He sighed deeply and picked up the boy and took him to the Hokage's office. "Hokage-sama, I found Uzumaki passed out on a rooftop in sector 31." The hokage, an aged Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed much like the ANBU operative did earlier.

"Thank you Boar. Put him on the couch please." Boar did as instructed and bowed before leaving in a swirl of leaves. _I wish I could help him without putting the whole village in danger. A revolt would cripple the village as well as open the door for an invasion. Kami, I hope you can help the boy more than I can._

It was a few hours before Naruto awoke. He viewed his surroundings through one eye before opening them fully. Hiruzen noticed all of this and again felt saddened that the boy in front of him had to go through so much at such a young age. "Jiji!" Naruto shouted happily sitting up fully. While Naruto was always happy to see someone he saw as a grandfather, this seemed to hit him more emotionally for some reason. He put all this at the back of his mind for the moment however. He literally jumped over the desk to put the hokage in a bone crushing hug. Naruto felt the hidden ANBU tense at the sudden movement before relaxing. "Jiji, your guards are getting lax if I could get that close before they reacted." Hiruzen didn't visibly react to Naruto's words, but was astounded that Naruto felt the hidden ANBU, much less correctly guessed that their reactions were slightly slower than normal. Naruto looked to one of the darkened corners, a serious expression on his face, "The old man is one of the only people in the world who care for me. I don't care if he is one of the strongest shinobi in the world; don't let anything happen to him." Hiruzen smiled warmly at his surrogate grandson dressing down his guards.

"It's okay Naruto, they've been thoroughlychastised, err, told off," he corrected knowing Naruto had trouble with the larger words. "Now, can you tell me what happened to you tonight?"

"I saw a bright flash of light that hurt my eyes, and I passed out." Naruto purposely left out the fact that he saw someone on the rooftop with him. He didn't know why, but just instinctively knew it was better to keep some of the facts hidden.

"You don't have to protect anyone that might have hurt you, if they broke the law, they deserved to be punished."

Naruto's smile was one of mirth. It didn't fit in with the normal smiles the hokage normally saw on his face. His smiles ranged from the usual fake smile, to the excited smile, the mischievous smile, and the rarely seen genuinely happy smile. "It's the truth jiji, most of them were too drunk to even see me, let alone catch me."

"Are feeling alright my boy?" There were small things about Naruto that didn't add up.

"My head hurts a little, but I'm fine otherwise."

"I'll have a doctor come and check you out. I know how much you hate the hospital."

"That's why you're the best jiji. I haven't eaten in a while if you could get some food too." The sandaime nodded at one of the corners of the room. Naruto heard the telltale sound of the shunshin but didn't react. Thoughts raced through his head. _How do I know all this? I feel like I could even do the shunshin. I'll have to go over all of this later. That guy said that I wouldn't remember everything at first, maybe this is what he was talking about. _Feeling the sandaime's gaze on him he decided to forgo his thoughts for the moment. "So, how's work been jiji?"

"Being hokage has its perks, but paperwork takes most of my day. Running a whole village takes a lot of work. Are you sure you still want to be hokage? I barely get time for lunch, or to see my other grandson."

_Kage bunshin,_ came the thought to Naruto unbidden. "That sucks jiji, but I'll still take that hat from you. Just keep it warm for me." Naruto wanted to help his surrogate grandfather, but telling him an A class kinjutsu was the answer was definitely out of the question. "If only there was someway to be in two places at once," he thought out loud.

Hiruzen looked at Naruto confused. None of the things about the boy were matching with what he knew of him. He could tell Naruto was hiding things from him, but he didn't know how much, or for how long. A realization struck the hokage that pushed the previous thoughts out of his head. He put his fingers into a cross shape and said, "kage bunshin no jutsu." Another Hiruzen Sarutobi stood next to the desk.

Naruto was familiar with the technique and had even done it before but was confused as this was his first time seeing it. He grabbed his head in pain and promptly passed out again.

He woke up in a sewer. The walls were red and an inch of water was on the ground. The place was familiar, but new at the same time. He had never been so confused in his life. Even the fact that the villagers hated him was less confusing. He wandered around the sewers, unconsciously moving towards a large chakra source.

He came upon bars to cage that went higher than he could see. "You came a lot sooner than I expected boy," a voice said from behind the bars. Naruto inched forward, straining to see in the cage. A snout followed by a pair of eyes moved into the light before a claw shot out between the bars towards him. Time slowed for Naruto, with speed and agility honed from years practice, his fingers raced through hand seals before slamming his hand on the ground. A giant hand of earth erupted from the ground and clashed with the claw giving Naruto time to jump back out of the way. The hand crumbled under the pressure and the claw retracted back into the cage. "How are you able to do that meatbag?"

"Instinct, who are you and where am I?" Naruto replied. The adrenaline was still pumping in his system and he was trying to get himself to calm down before he made a mistake.

"Hehehe," the beast chuckled before becoming full blown laughter. "They still haven't told you yet? That's rich. I am the great Kyubi no yoko. The strongest of the bijuu. Able to…"

Naruto was a maelstrom of emotions. (**A.N. sorry, couldn't resist**) _The kyubi which was supposed to be killed by the yondaime was alive, and yet I know that we're in my mindscape. How could the fourth do that to me? I understood though. If I had a son, how could i expect to seal a bijuu in someone else's child? Wait, the yondaime is my father? No, it's just my imagination, but I've met him…ARGGHH _

The laughter brought him out of his reverie. "What's the matter boy? Having the kyubi sealed in you too much?"

"Not now Kurama," Naruto replied being somewhat distracted at the moment. Kurama roared and unleashed his Killing Intent (**KI from now on**) bringing Naruto to his knees.

"How do you know that name?" Kurama roared, still leveling Naruto enough KI to give someone a heart attack.

Naruto shakily got to his feet much to the surprise of Kurama. "I don't know!" Naruto roared back. He unleashed his own KI which, while not as much as Kuramas, was enough to allow him to get his breath back. "I have no idea how I know the things I know. The techniques, your name, who my father is, or the other thousand things going through my head. I just want it to stop!" A hand rested on his shoulder.

"It's almost over Naruto, and everything will be clear." The person he saw on the rooftop was next to him.

"Who are you? What did you do to me?"

"You look like that disgusting yondaime," Kurama shouted slamming against the bars of his cage.

"I would hope so," he replied, "I am his son. It's good to see you again Kurama. You don't remember me, but I remember we had some good times. It's not every day you get to face off against the juubi."

Kurama's jaw dropped_. Impossible. My father was the only one to ever face the juubi. This mortal would spit on my fathers grave._ Kurama leveled the full force of KI against this unknown person. The figure sighed sadly and let loose a counter to the KI. It wasn't KI though. If Naruto had to describe what he was feeling, he would have to say determination.

The older figure answered Naruto's unspoken question. "Just like KI, any emotion can be harnessed and used. The intent to kill is easiest because it focuses hate and anger, but any emotion can be utilized in the same fashion." Kurama stopped his KI.

"Who are you?" he demanded in a growl.

The man fixed Kurama with a determined gaze before smiling at Naruto. "Naruto Uzumaki, genin of Konoha, at your service." The young Naruto looked at the older version of himself and passed out. "Huh, I didn't know you could pass out in your mindscape. Cool."

**A.N.- This is the shortest chapter that I will probably write. I've had this idea in my head for a while now and while I know that it isn't an original theme by any stretch of the imagination, I haven't seen too many like this one before. I have seen one that took the same premise called Afterthought which was very good by the way, but it's similar only in the fact that it's what I'd call a reverse time travel fic. That being that Naruto of the future (different timeline/dimension) travels back in time but does not take over the present Naruto. His memories and experiences transfer to the present Naruto but his consciousness fades. I hope you enjoy reading and reviews are more than welcome. Thank you. **

**p.s. If I ever use the term "like a hot knife through butter" in any of my stories, please slap me.**


	2. Chapter 2

Memories from Yet to Come

**A/N I first wanted to thank everyone who reviewed and those who enjoyed the story. My only reason for writing is for others enjoyment. I got a review from someone who hasn't followed Naruto as much as I have, so during every chapter will be a translation and brief description of terms that were prevalent in the story. Also, there will be spoilers. If haven't read the manga and don't want anything ruined, you might not want to read. **

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for Knighthood"**

**p.s. You guys are awesome and so is this site.**

Explanations and Revelations

"Okay ningen(human), tell me what's going on." Kurama truthfully didn't know what to believe. He could sense the same soul resonating in both Narutos, but the Juubi(ten tails)? How would that even be possible without him being a part of it?

Naruto sat down, a chair appearing beneath him as he did. All he received from the kyubi was a raised eyebrow. "No problem Fluffs. It'll have to be the short version though, I don't know how much time I have. The Juubi was resurrected by an Uchiha who claimed to be Madara, but in actuality was Obito." He held up a hand to forestall any outburst that Kurama might have made. "I know you despise Madara, and all Uchiha in general, but we're on a time limit here. You and I got along pretty well for a while. I won't go into specifics but I released you and you didn't go on a rampage. Instead, you chose to work with me. We became friends." A low growl brought him up short. "Oh stop. I know you're angry, and you have every right to be, but being angry and being filled with hate are two different things. You're hundreds of years old, don't take your anger out on an eleven year old. If it makes you feel better, your brothers and sisters were pretty cool towards the end too.

"Anyway, the Juubi was unstoppable. Even with only a piece of the eight tails and some of your chakra, it destroyed everything. It was the world against Madara, Obito, and the juubi and the world lost. In a last ditch effort to give hope to the future, I created a seal to send me back to the past powered by your chakra.

"It didn't go as expected though. I think with your chakra powering the seal it sent me back to a time where the energies harmonized." Kurama looked dumbfounded. Although he couldn't see the outside world through Naruto, he did see enough of his memories to know that the kid wasn't that smart.

"How does he," Kurama gestured towards the unconscious Naruto, "get to be as smart as you?"

The older Naruto laughed. "Being a seal master means you have to study; a lot. I remember this one time where Shikam…"

Kurama cleared his throat interrupting him. "Time limit?"

"Kuso(damn)! You never let me finish my stories. But you're right. I appeared when Naruto was born and you were freed from our mother. I was kind of around without being around. I could see and sense things going on but I didn't really exist. I don't understand why, but my soul materialized right in front of the other me tonight."

"Let's say I believe you. What now?"

"He's going to get all my memories, and his kekkei genkai (blood line limit) should release. He's going to need help though. The only way I made it as far as I did was because of my friends. Without them, I shudder to think what I would have become." He looked sideways at the incredibly huge bijuu. "One more friend could never hurt ya know."

"Don't push it boy. He's weak, stupid, and unfit to be my host."

That pushed the older Naruto's buttons, but he refused to show it. "He's lonely, scared, unloved, and hides behind a mask so he won't be outright murdered."

"He could release my powers and show this pathetic village how strong he truly is. We could destroy this village easily." Kurama felt better. His rage made him powerful.

"You're still not there yet," Naruto replied standing up. "I make this promise to you though. I know myself, and I know him. When you're ready for a friend, he'll be there for you. We'll definitely help you get rid of your hate, datteybayo(have no clue).

Kurama laid his head down on his paws and closed his eyes. "Leave me ningen, and take the gaki with you." Older Naruto picked up his younger version and made his way to a different part of his mindscape. He didn't see the serene smile grace the kyubi's(nine tails) face.

-Different part of Mindscape—

Younger Naruto (YN for now) rubbed his eyes groggily. "Jiji, I just had the weirdest dream." He scooted back when he saw his older self staring back at him.

"I don't have a lot of time," ON said seriously. "I know you're confused but when your mind finishes filtering all the memories from me, it'll become clearer. You won't know everything right away though. There will probably be instances where you won't know something until you're in a situation where you need it." ON looked at his hands and saw them start to fade out. "Kuso! Look, I can't tell you everything I wanted, but trust your instincts, believe in your friends, and above all else, remember that our parents loved us more than anything."

YN jumped up, "Who were they?! Why won't anyone tell me? Please…" YN pleaded, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

ON looked on sadly, remembering his youth and how hard it was. "You share our mother's last name; you should be able to find it from there. As for our father, all I'll tell you is that he's helped give you the most peace when you were troubled." ON was almost completely faded now. "This last headache will be the worst, but it'll be worth it. Goodbye Naruto."

Naruto gripped his head in pain and his wail was loud enough to be heard in Kurama's chamber. Naruto sat up on the sandaime hokage's (third fireshadow) couch gripping his head and screaming. The doctor examining Naruto leapt back and Hiruzen cast a wary eye towards the physician. "What did you do?" He was about to motion for ANBU to take him to Ibiki when Naruto stopped screaming.

"It wasn't him jiji (old man; grandpa). I had a run in with my tenant." Naruto hated lying to one of the only people who truly cared for him, but he didn't want to try telling the truth at the moment. Hiruzen's eyes widened before dropping to the floor in shame.

"I'm sorry Naruto. I had planned on telling you when you were a genin (low ninja)."

"I wish I could say it was okay jiji, but you lied to me. When I asked you why they hated me you told me you didn't know. I had to meet the fur ball to find out myself. Do you know who my parents are at least?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi felt every one of his years at the moment. "I do, but," he cut off Naruto before he could interrupt, "it would be dangerous if I told you right now. I promise to tell you when I feel you're ready to be able to defend yourself properly."

The other Naruto's memories were going to give him the information anyway, so he decided to give the hokage a break. "I can live with that answer hokage-sama. Thank you for not lying to me."

The sandaime noted the honorific Naruto had used and felt a pain in his heart. Naruto felt saddened at the pain on Naruto's face. "Treat me to an all you can eat ramen feast and I'll forgive you, okay jiji?" Hiruzen's smile returned

"Lunch tomorrow, as much as you can eat."

"Yatta!" Hiruzen was glad that the meeting with the kyubi didn't seem to affect Naruto too much. Naruto yawned loudly and decided to go home for the night. "Do you think I can get someone to watch my apartment for the night? The villagers are usually pretty brave on my birthdays."

"Of course Naruto, and for what its worth, I really am sorry." Naruto nodded his head and jumped out the window much to the surprise of the hokage. "The number one most surprising ninja indeed."

-Naruto's Apartment—

Naruto slept fitfully. He couldn't tell if his dreams were memories or dreams or a combination of the two. He woke up at the light of false dawn, and got dressed. He decided to skip breakfast. Even though he had pretty much forgiven his jiji, he was definitely going to make him pay today. Some light exercise before lunch wouldn't hurt either.

He was glad his headache was gone but his mind was in turmoil. _I've gotta clear my head. I have to bring my A game if I'm gonna hurt jiji's pockets today._ With a sigh, he shunshinned (body flicker technique) out of his apartment. He arrived atop the hokage monument in record time. _Did I just…_"I am so awesome!" he shouted from atop the fourth hokage's head. He did it a couple more times before reappearing atop the fourth hokage's head again and sat down. "Wait till I show Sakura-chan. Sasuke will be so jealous and Sakura will have to go on a date with me."

_Why do I want to date Sakura anyways? She's a great teammate, and her punches hurt like hell, but she isn't really that nice to me, but…Arrggh, why did my life have to get so complicated? _He looked down at the village before looking at the stone face below him.

"Hey there yondaime, it's your biggest fan here. So a lot of weird stuff has been happening to me lately. I know about what happened with you and the fox. I understand you had to do what you had to do, but why me? Maybe someday you'll be able to tell me. It's been hard here though."

Naruto always liked coming to talk to the fourth. He always listened and never judged him. It was so peaceful up here, especially in the mornings. His eyes widened with that sudden realization. _Could he really be…_

A sudden, light breeze blew around him, ruffling his hair. "Tou-san (father)? The sun broke over the horizon at that moment and covered Naruto in the warm light. "I have so much to tell you!" Naruto excitedly told the stone face everything about his life while the village was bathed in the soft orange glow of the morning sun.

Naruto was jumping up and down in the hokage's office. "Are you ready jiji? I'm starving. I had such a big morning. I went to my favorite hang out, then I trained some, then I pranked some then I…"

"Naruto!" the hokage shouted to get his attention. "I've been trying to tell you that I'm a shadow clone. The original is already waiting for you at Ichiraku's.

"Nani (what)?" Naruto explained before performing a sealless shunshin. Everyone's eyes in the room widened in surprise.

"As if he wasn't difficult to catch before," one of the ANBU guards murmured while the clone chuckled.

Naruto arrived in the seat at Ichiraku's while Hiruzen waited at the front of the stand. "Jiji, come on, I'm hungry." Hiruzen spun around, surprised Naruto managed to sneak past him.

"How did you get in without me seeing Naruto?"

"A ninja is supposed to keep secrets, right?" The hokage nodded his head. "Then there's your answer."

"Ah, but you're not a ninja yet Naruto," he replied while sitting down.

"Neither are the clan heirs, but nobody expects them to give up their secrets."

"You're a lot smarter than people give you credit for, my boy"

"Yo, Teuchi-jiji, I plan on cleaning you out today. Give me one of each and keep em coming." Teuchi cried tears of happiness.

Naruto was on a mission; the complete eradication of Ichiraku's ramen supply. A crowd gathered around Naruto amazed that a non Akamichi member was putting on a display of such feats. It was unheard of. Teuchi was running so far behind he had to hire a dish washer for the day.

Naruto finished his last bowl and patted his stomach. Teuchi, owner of Ichiraku, and his daughter Ayame, stood before Naruto mesmerized. He had eaten every last noodle in the little stand. Naruto turned to the hokage.

"Consider yourself forgiven jiji."

"I almost don't think it was worth it." Hiruzen had already had to send a ninja to his clan compound to get him some more money to pay for Naruto's self appointed mission.

Naruto turned towards the crowd. "Let this be a warning to all of you. Any who wrong me in the future will have to face a similar punishment." Upon hearing these words, Teuchi fainted and Ayame began drawing plans for a larger stand. Several people in the crowd bolted much to the amusement of the hidden ANBU.

"Thanks again jiji," Naruto said with a hug, "I have some stuff to do. See ya later." Naruto disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto ran his hand over his stomach where his seal was located. He could feel the seal. He hadn't even looked at it and he understood the intricacies of the overlaying matrices. Hell, he even understood what a sealing matrix was. _How do I know all this?_

As soon as the question was asked, he knew the answer. The kekkei genkai of the Uzumaki clan.

**A/N I know this chapter was a little slow, but the build up was necessary for the future chapters. Just to give you a heads up, Naruto will leave the village before becoming a ninja, but it'll only be for two or three chapters at the most. **

**I would also like to get feedback on how the translations were done. Do people prefer them like I had them here? Or would everyone rather have them at the end of the chapter? **

**I'm really excited about next chapter. Before he leaves, he has some meetings/interventions and faces off against the council. There won't be a lot of bashing, but he does put them in their place. **

**As always, thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy.**


	3. Chapter 3

Memories from Yet to Come

Chapter 3

**A/N – I'm really loving the writing, and you're comments make it so much better, so thank you. I wanted to address a couple reviews from the last chapter.**

**To Mas2009 I posted a response to your review in the review section, but I'll recap here. I completely agree with you on the point of the last chapter feeling rushed. It was the hardest chapter for me to write because of the lack of action and humor, but it was necessary for the plot. The next point is kind of tricky. No one really remembers every memory all of the time. A sound, or smell or anything else will trigger a memory that you haven't thought about for years. He has all these memories to sort through and some won't surface until something triggers them. As for the last point, it will definitely change him. You will see a huge change in this chapter as well. Thanks for the review and the different points. Hopefully this helped out a little.**

**To Apollymi28 Thanks for the heads up on dattebayo. I didn't know if it was an actual word or slang. As far as the pairing goes, don't worry about Sakura/Naruto. I don't have any problems with a HinaNaru, but unfortunately, I have plans for her that directly involve Naruto's bloodline. Again, than**

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for Knighthood"**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

**Kyubi talking**

**_Kyubi thinking_**

Advice and Knowledge

Naruto's actions had been raising red flags to the ANBU watching him. They almost missed his pranks. That would have been at least a sign of normalcy. A meditating Naruto was NOT normal. Even when he was asleep Naruto never stayed in the same position for long. The cat masked ANBU saw this as both a blessing and a curse.

A cloud of orange and purple smoke erupted in the village. "We have a code orange!" came a voice through the ANBU's com link.

"That's impossible! I'm watching Uzumaki right now. It has to be someone else," she replied quietly into the com link.

"I've got eyes on target. It's definitely…YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, DATTEBAYO! HAHAHAHAHA!" she heard Naruto interrupt the other ANBU. Cat shunshined behind Naruto and approached carefully to not disturb his meditation. She circled around and saw his head down. Not seeing him breathing, she shook his shoulder and his head lolled back. It was a life size version of a Naruto plushy. She went from shock, to horror, to rage. She only got angrier when the doll exploded and covered her in orange paint.

"NAAARRRUUUTTTTOOOOO!" her voice rang out over the village.

The third hokage smirked at hearing the yell. He walked into his office and two ANBU blended into the shadows. Hiruzen looked down at his desk and saw a seal on a scroll. One of the ANBU was immediately by his side at the discovery.

"What do you make of this?" the wizened leader asked.

"It looks like a seal hokage-sama." He caught the hokage rolling his eyes at the blatant observation. "Although I'm proficient in seals, I'm nowhere near a seal master, and I've never seen some of the parts in this array. The best I'd be able to come up with is that it's a blood seal." Hiruzen nodded in agreement.

Before the ANBU could object, he cut his thumb and swiped the blood across the seal. To their amazement the symbols of the seal swirled until they formed words. 'Jiji, training ground 0.' The ANBU in the room immediately thought it was a trap while the hokage was confused. The remnants of the chakra definitely felt like Naruto's, but he doubted Jiraya would be able to come up with something like this.

"Boar will come with me while Crane will stay here with my clone." He made a clone that got started on the piles of paperwork. They left in a whirl of leaves. Crane's thoughts were elsewhere though. _How did the person who left that here manage to get in here without the barrier seals activating?_

They stopped outside of a large wall. "Wait here. If I'm not the first one out, attack. Usual password."

"Hai hokage-sama." Hiruzen nodded once before turning and walking through the barrier that covered the only entrance.

Naruto had been torn. Being able to live his childhood again. As confusing as it was at first, he had worked it out. The memories he had were very real, but that didn't discount the experiences he was still able to have. It happened the other day when he went to a restaurant he remembered that served him when he was older. He walked into the small but inviting dining area and found he was nervous that they would throw him out like all the others. When the older lady smiled and escorted him to a booth, he almost cried tears of joy. He was nervous once again when a very large man came out of the back wearing an apron. He glared at Naruto before his voice boomed.

"You need some meat on your bones boy. Order what you want and you'll pay only half today." This time Naruto did cry. When he felt her arms encircle him, he sobbed harder into her shoulder. It was then he learned that the memory didn't live up to the experience.

He couldn't just let everything happen again the same way. He had never been the 'wait and see' type. He was more like the 'do something and hope it doesn't blow up in your face' type. He had to trust someone though. And though he knew his jiji kept things from him, he was the best option available to him.

It was then that the hokage walked into the hokage's private training ground. "Naruto? How'd you get in here? And the seal you left in my office? And…"

"Jiji, I know you have questions but let me explain first and then I'll answer any questions you have." He continued after seeing him nod. "First it really is me. I'm not an imposter. I'm not working for anyone else, and I have no intentions of harming anyone or betraying Konoha. What I'm about to tell you needs to be an S rank secret, at least."

Hiruzen's eyes widened briefly before narrowing, "tell me first and then I'll decide." Naruto expected some suspicion from the old hokage.

"I really am me, and no, I'm not being influenced by fuzzy." The growl he heard in his mind made him chuckle. "How much do you know about fuuinjutsu?"

"I know you can do almost anything if you have enough knowledge."

"First thing is that I met myself." Hiruzen was lost. He had no idea what he meant by that. "My future self used an original seal that brought him back in time. From what I understand from his memories, the same soul can't exist in two different places at the same time on the same plane of existence."

The sandaime thought about it for a moment, "Well what about some of the higher class clones then?"

"Those have to do more with chakra then it does the actual soul, but even in extreme cases, if it were to happen, it would be a splitting of the soul, not two complete souls." The hokage nodded in agreement. "Back to the topic though, since we both couldn't exist, his soul merged with mine. I got his memories, and my kekkei genkai unlocked." Hiruzen couldn't believe what he was hearing. A future Naruto, kekkei genkai; it was almost too much.

"All of this is kind of hard to believe my boy." Naruto had a feeling that would be his reaction. He had been working hard to get his chakra control up to par. With the merging of his future self, the spiritual part of his chakra had skyrocketed and the physical side had quickly become the smaller. Shadow clones didn't need great control however, and he abused that fact like his life depended on it. He would often create enough to do some basic control exercises while he would train his body.

He put his fingers into the cross pattern. Two shadow clones appeared much to the surprise of the hokage. He had the two clones help him form a rasengan. Hiruzen was blown away. _He knows. Two shadow clones wordlessly, and then his father's technique?_ "Are there any more surprises Naruto? I don't know if my heart can take too much more."

Naruto smirked, "Just a couple jiji. My kekkei genkai is from my mother's clan. The Uzumakis were known as great seal masters, but that was because of their bloodline. This is what needs to be kept a secret above all else; at least for now. There are three parts to it. First, I can see any and all hidden seals. Even parts of seals that are hidden are visible to me."

"You have a doujutsu?"

"I guess technically, you could say I do, but that's all it does. The second part is once I," he struggled for the next word, "feel? a seal, I understand the seal in its entirety."

"What do you mean by feeling the seal? You have to touch it?"

"It's hard to explain. It almost feels like another sense I have now. If you had to explain sight to someone who's been blind their entire life, how would you go about it?"

Hiruzen thought a moment before understanding. "I see what you mean. Please continue."

"The last part of my bloodline limit is I'm able to make seals without drawing them out. I'm still working on that though. Even the future me wasn't proficient in that part of his abilities."

"I'll help you anyway I can. Actually, there's someone who should be arriving very soon who's a verified seal master. He'll be able to do something to help."

"Ero-sennin is coming?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"You know about Jiraya?"

"Future memories, remember?"

"Ahh, of course." Hiruzen stayed silent figuring Naruto had more to tell him.

"There are a couple more things you need to know. The next time Konoha hosts the chunnin exams, you die."

Hiruzen was disconcerted by this news. He had led a good life and had no qualms about his life ending, but to die during an event that was supposed to promote peace between the villages was almost unheard of. "Can you tell me how?"

"Orochimaru invades the village. He marks Sasuke with the curse mark and kills you during the third part."

"Did I take him with me?" Hiruzen felt shame again for the time he let his emotions allow his student to escape when Naruto shook his head. "We have time to prepare now," he said trying to put a positive spin on the unsettling news.

"Train jiji. Let your shadow clones do paperwork. Recall Tsunade to the village and let her head up the medical program she wanted to start. Then, she can take over for you when the program takes off."

Hiruzen was being told what to do by a child that wasn't even a genin yet. But it all made sense. The only problems he foresaw was the fact that Tsunade would absolutely refuse and the council wouldn't approve the program anyway. Naruto's reaction was surprising when he voiced his thoughts.

"Damn it jiji, you're the hokage! The council does just that. Counsel. You might want to have one of your shadow clones look through the Konoha charter and laws book. The council can't overturn a ruling by the hokage, whether it's a shinobi or civilian matter."

"That's not true Naruto. With a unanimous vote by the whole council a decree by the hokage may be overturned…"

"'…during times of peace involving matters that affect the safety of the village. The daimyo must also be present during the vote.' You can't make everyone happy all the time old man. You've dedicated most of your life to the village, and you've earned your title of the 'God of Shinobi' many times over. Don't let the village destroy itself when you're so close to retiring." Hiruzen took Naruto's words to heart.

"You're a wise young man, Naruto."

"Wisdom is related to experience, not age." Hiruzen nodded in agreement. "As for Tsunade, she has family in Konoha that she's been ignoring long enough." Naruto unconsciously released some KI thinking about his errant baa-chan.

_You're going to be something special Naruto Uzumaki. Possibly the next 'God of Shinobi'._

"One more thing jiji, after I got used to my bloodline, I found some seals on me." This time it was the sandaime hokage who was leaking KI. Naruto almost fell back from the feeling. It was nearly the same level he experienced from the Kyubi.

"Sorry Naruto," he said as the KI receded. "You've been through so much in such a short life. I'll make sure the ones that can be released will be." Naruto's laughter surprised him again. _As if I hadn't been surprised enough already._

"I took care of them jiji. One is obviously the seal holding the kyubi back. Another was a storage seal holding a letter from my mother. There was a seal that I'm guessing was supposed to hinder my mind. It did hurt my concentration, but it didn't do any damage that I know about. I think the same person tried to put another on me to affect my growth. All it did was act like a low level resistance seal. The bad part of that though was that it could have affected the seal holding the kyubi."

"Do you know who put these on you?" Naruto shook his head.

"If I were to see another seal by the same person I could tell you though." He explained seeing the hokages questioning look. "Every seal is different. If we were to draw the same seals they would be different, even if it wasn't visible to the eye."

"Anything else my boy?"

"The most dangerous one if it was finished. A loyalty seal that wasn't quite finished. If that seal would have been finished, the kyubi would have been freed."

"How?"

"The kyubi's chakra can affect my body obviously. It would've been only a matter of time before some of it leaked out and he could change the seal. And guess who I would've been loyal to after that? And then guess what his first order would've been? Well, that's about it for me."

"Double S rank."

"Huh?"

"You wanted the secret ranked. That's the rank. No one else is to know anything discussed here unless the both of us okay it."

"Sure thing jiji."

Shikamaru and Choji crested the small hill where they usually watched clouds. Choji saw the blond haired Uzumaki laying in the grass with his hands behind his head watching the clouds with a serene smile.

"Hey Naruto," he said between mouthfuls of food.

"I just know this is going to be troublesome," replied his friend. "What are you doing here Naruto? Hiding because of another prank?"

"Naw, just relaxing and enjoying the weather." Shikamaru eyed him suspiciously. He laid down next to Naruto and assumed the same pose. He let a relaxing sigh escape before he sat up.

"It doesn't make sense. You're always fidgeting. It's like you're on a constant sugar high."

"He does have a point Naruto, you're the most hyper person I've ever met," Choji said backing up his friend.

"It's all about balance." They looked at him questioningly. He was getting that look a lot lately. He turned to Choji, "You know how much I love ramen, right?" Choji nodded. "If I wanted to get healthy and be in better shape, what would you suggest I do about my diet?"

Choji didn't hesitate with his answer. "First I'd cut the ramen. While some carbs are good, too much is very unhealthy. I'd increase vegetables and fruits between meals and do small portions of a variety of meats and grains for lunch and dinner."

"So, in other words?"

"A balanced diet."

"I was right, troublesome." Shikamaru said. He knew where Naruto was going with his question as soon as he asked it. "So you're out here to balance out what?"

"Chakra is a balance between physical and spiritual energy. With as much exercise as I get, I figured I'd need to work on my spiritual energy. And this is as close to meditation as I can get." He didn't like lying to his friends but he needed to give them a push in the right direction.

"You're different Naruto." Naruto just shrugged.

"Maybe it's all the cloud watching I've been doing."

"Hn," Shikamaru replied very Sasuke-like.

"Wanna go play some shogi?" he asked further surprising the two boys.

"Sure," Shikamaru replied, "but we should probably work out first." The two boys didn't see Naruto's smile before he followed them.

The Hyuga elders were gathered in the clan court yard as Hinabi and Hinata faced off against each other. Hinata was losing badly to her sister but the reason was hidden from almost all present. Most figured that Hinata was a failure. In truth, Hinata didn't want to hurt her last connection to her mother. While she did what she could to dodge Hinabi's strikes, she refused to counter. It didn't help that the gentle fist style her family was famous for didn't feel right.

When the match was called, many of the elders glared at Hinata. Some were talking quietly between each other but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Incompetent" and "disgrace to the clan" were among the most commonly spoken. Her father's unwavering stony face glared at her. That hurt her most; her own father not sticking up for her.

"That was a good match," a loud voice yelled behind everyone. "You both look like you trained hard." In a tree branch was Naruto.

_It's Naruto-kun! And he said I had a good match, _Hinata thought. She was close to passing out.

"What's the de-" an elder shouted before stopping abruptly.

"Finish it, I dare you." Naruto smiled evilly. "I'm sure there's another Hyuga that would love to fill your spot."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Hiashi addressed the blond jinchuriki, "why have you invaded our clan grounds?"

"Invaded? I wouldn't say that."

"You've come into our clan grounds uninvited and without making your intentions known. That could be construed as an invasion."

"Good point. Naruto Uzumaki, invader. Maybe I can get that as an official title. All beware the Invading Hokage." He smiled at the possibilities. Hiashi fought the tug at the corners of his mouth. The blond had a way about him to make people smile.

"State your business before ANBU is called boy." Naruto bowed respectfully which surprised the Hyuga present. To their knowledge, the prank master had never bowed before anyone in his life.

"I really came to see Hinata fight." He turned to the two Hyuga heirs. "I wasn't lying before, you're both quite good." This time Hinata did faint.

"You know nothing boy. Look at her," an elder pointed to the passed out child being attended to by a branch member. "She's an untalented little bit..." he stopped talking when he felt a kunai against his throat. Naruto had crossed the distance in a surprisingly fast movement. Even the few Hyuga who had their Byakugan active had missed it. A trail of golden flames flickered out of existence. Jaws dropped, eyes bulged out even more than usual.

_Thanks for the boost Kurama._

**Let me sleep brat. ****_Don't ever change kit._**

_Sure thing fuzzy._

**If I wasn't in this seal I would peel your skin off and use it as a kite.**

_Is that even possible?_

**Gah! Just let me sleep brat! **Naruto's chuckle brought a smile to Kurama's face.

"Hinata is a good friend of mine, one of the only people to show me kindness. Finish that sentence and find a new way to breathe." Hiashi was jumping for joy in his head as the boy hated by most of the village made a Hyuga elder try to avoid pissing his pants.

"Uzumaki, this is a clan matter. Please remove the kunai."

"Sure Hiashi-san. Now, as to why I let you know I was here."

"What do you mean let us know you were here? You couldn't possibly have hoped to make it out with alerting us to your presence."

"You guys have never seen me before."

"How many times have you been here?"

"Usually once a month for the past couple years. Mostly for pranks, sometimes for food. _Sometimes just to pretend to have a family._" Hiashi was going to have a long talk with the guards for the compound. Hinata awoke at this point. He walked over to Hinata who was rapidly turning red and close to passing out again. "The reason I made myself known has to do with Hinata."

Naruto was circling Hinata staring intently. He sighed heavily. "Hiashi-sama, are we going to allow this outrage to continue?" another elder shouted stepping forward.

"Uzumaki-san, I'm going to need an explanation, or I'm going to have to take measures, and inside our compound we decide the punishment, including death." A few of the members present grinned at this prospect.

"No!" Hinata shouted surprising everyone. "You can't do that Tou-san."

"And why not daughter?"

"Because I love him," she blurted. There were several growls from the crowd. Hiashi simply raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry Hinata-chan, but you don't love me. At least, not that you know."

"Explain Uzumaki," Hiashi demanded. He was getting tired of the drama.

"I can't explain how I know because of a Double S ranked secret, but Hinata has a loyalty seal on her."

"Impossible!" and "Demon" were heard from the crowd. He flared his ever improving KI and quickly quieted the crowd.

"She has a poorly executed loyalty seal at the back of her neck. The person who did it must have been rushed because they managed to lay another seal over the top to hide it. And doing the two in concert is not easy. The loyalty seal has several minor problems though. It didn't sync to the right person though. My guess is that it linked to me partially which caused your infatuation."

"N-Nothing I f-feel for y-you is r-real?"

"I wouldn't say that. Us being friends is real. Maybe you loving me is real too. But we won't know until the seal is removed."

"What else would this affect?" Hiashi asked.

"Very observant Hiashi-san. The seal is located at the back of the neck which is too close to her brain. Her shyness and nervousness could be directly related. Her fainting is definitely related."

"Can you remove the seals?"

"Of course Hiashi, I'll need a couple things though."

Naruto was presented with a scroll and a pen which he quickly scribbled down a few things. Hiashi looked over the list. "Ramen?" Naruto shrugged sheepishly. Hiashi handed the list to a branch member who shunshinned away.

"Can we really trust this boy Hiashi-sama?" an elder asked.

"I know you know the prowess the Uzumakis had in sealing. I believe the boy has already proven his proficiency simply by knowing the seal existed in the first place."

"Perhaps a demonstration?" Naruto asked walking up to Hiashi. A nod was his answer. Naruto held up the ram seal and stomped his foot on the ground. Blue light erupted around Naruto and Hiashi while the rest of the world turned grey. "What's said in here is for us only. This seal is my own design and creates a temporary dimension for me to use."

"This is incredible." The normally stoic Hyuga was flabbergasted. "How are you doing this?"

"It's because I'm an Uzumaki and that's all I'm allowed to say on the subject. The reason I brought you here is to talk about your daughters. There's something bad coming and they need to be ready. Hinata is ready to crack and Hinabi is heading towards a dangerous path. You've seen the Uchiha, right? Her coldness could rival his one day."

"I'm the head of the Hyuga clan. I have responsibilities to the clan."

"I didn't say anything about giving up your responsibilities. I'm saying take your responsibilities as a father seriously. The current version of the Gentle Fist doesn't fit her."

Hiashi took offense to that. "All Hyuga use the same style!"

"All Hiashi?" Hiashi was about to respond harshly when he remembered his wife. Her style was a slightly altered version of the Gentle Fist style. It was graceful and incredibly devastating. Just remembering her brought a smile to his face.

"What do you suggest then?"

"The Hyuga are some of the best taijutsu users in the elemental countries. I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"And since you seem to have all the answers, why can't she beat Hinabi? Even if our style isn't suited to her, she should be able to beat her younger sister."

"Would you want to hurt the last thing your mother ever left in the world?" The answer stunned Hiashi. Everything clicked into place for him.

"You have done me a great service Uzumaki-san. If you ever need anything, please ask."

Naruto smiled warmly. "Take care of you daughters and maybe tell Neji the truth. He probably deserves it." Hiashi swore his jaw was going to come unhinged at some point. Naruto let the field drop and color returned to the world.

"Well, are we going to see this demonstration?" an elder asked rudely. Hiashi's jaw set. He was getting tired of the elders.

"I would, but the ingredients for the unsealing are here." Just then, the unnamed branch member shunshinned into the court yard. Naruto mixed the ink that was brought with some of his chakra. He probably could've done it without using the ink but he didn't want everyone to know about his bloodline yet.

He brushed Hinata's hair aside and saw the individual parts of the seal separate in his mind. He saw what each did and how it connected to the others. He also saw what to do to nullify them safely. With assured strokes and no hesitation he painted the counterseal on Hinata's neck. All three seals glowed brightly before disappearing.

Hinata's sudden intake of breath confirmed Naruto's suspicions. "Are you okay Hinata?" Hiashi asked with worry.

"Hai tou-san, I definitely feel different." Hiashi shocked everyone by grabbing her in a hug and whispered quietly causing Hinata to cry out of happiness.

Naruto turned away from the happy scene to receive a knife in the stomach. Shouts and sounds of fighting were lost to Naruto as darkness overtook his world.


	4. Chapter 4

**Memories from Yet to Come**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

**Kyubi talking**

**_Kyubi thinking_**

**Flashohol**- You are absolutely right. I even missed that after I reread it before posting. Thank you for the criticism and review.

**Geetac-** I'm glad you do. I like those reviews!

**BR0TH3R MENACE-** Lol. I am so sorry. It was 2 in the morning and I didn't realize where I stopped it. I originally didn't plan on stopping there.

**Clams-and-Rainbows- **I did read your review you posted after chapter 2. I did have plans in effect to incorporate your ideas in the future chapters little by little, but after reading your review, I realized you were probably right and the changes would be more…drastic. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter as some of the parts were inspired by your review. Thanks for the review.

**Ribellion-** I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'll admit, I am confused about which direction to go about Danzo. On one hand, I see that he's very dedicated to the village, but at the same time, there are things you don't do in realization of your goals/dreams. But rest assured, I'm not one for bashing (even though some characters definitely deserve it.) As to the Danzo situation, as they say, the story will write itself.

Thanks again for all reviews and follows/favorites. I love opening my email and seeing someone else following the story.

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for Knighthood"**

Chapter 4

Naruto awoke in his mindscape. It had noticeably changed from the last time he was here. While there was still the red tinge to everything, it was nowhere as menacing as the last time. The water was also gone from the floors. While he had theories on why his mindscape was different, the same thought kept coming to mind. _Who cares why?_

He walked along the now familiar route to his once and hopefully future friend. _While I'm here, I might as well get some training in._ Along the way his thoughts kept going back to the moments after Hiinata's unsealing. _I can't believe I let my guard down. All these years of watching my back and not trusting people outright, and I get lax at the worst possible moment; especially when I have so much to do in the next few days._ He sighed heavily and trudged on through the now slightly more comforting sewers.

"Oi, fuzzy, I need the regular training." He bit back his laugh at the outraged look on Kurama's face. It got him every time.

"**Go away future snack. I'm going to sleep."**

"I guess you do need the sleep jiji-fox. The crows feet at your eyes are starting to get pretty big too." That did it. Kurama leveled his KI directly at Naruto which is what he wanted in the first place. The last thing Naruto wanted was a moment's hesitation in battle because of some KI he wasn't ready for. If he could stand the kyubi's, he was pretty sure that there weren't a lot of ninja who could surprise him.

The KI suddenly stopped and Kurama laid his head down on his paws. "Okay, thanks for the training Kurama. You two thousand year old foxes need their sleep."

"**I'm only eight hu…"**

"Eight thousand? Wow jiji-fox, you were probably around when the world was formed, huh?" That brought about another session of KI training. Naruto was glad there was some way they could bond and was pretty sure Kurama didn't take it too seriously. After a particularly tough round of "Let's make Uzumaki try and crap his pants", the KI stopped and Naruto stood on shaky legs. "Really Kurama, thanks for the help." He started walking away before a thought hit him. "By the way, I'm working on tweaking the seal so you'll be able to at least get an idea what happens in the outside world."

Kurama was surprised that Naruto was even doing that much. He professed friendship and so far was pleasant enough, but to risk messing with the seal just to give him something to see and hear? He was genuinely starting to feel something akin to friendship for the meatbag. That thought more than anything annoyed him.

**"I don't care. Just get out." **Naruto waved it off knowing how the fox was feeling being locked up all the time. Although his stay behind bars wasn't nearly as long, he had some idea how Kurama must have felt. Kurama, however, wasn't content to leave it at that. Feeling the rush of power he got from his anger, he let it build and lashed out at Naruto. **"I'm going to get out you know. I will destroy everyone you care about. Then I'll have one of the worthless human's bring your parents back so I can kill them again."**

Kurama faltered when blue chakra erupted around Naruto. It was more than any human should rightly have. That alone should have warned him. He was so lost in the feeling of power though, he kept going. **"And you know what? You can't do anything about it. If you want to attack me you'll have to break the seal and then I'll kill you."**

Naruto's voice was deceptively calm and dangerously quiet. "I've been as much of a friend to you as I could be. I've given you every benefit of the doubt. You can threaten me, but when you threaten the people that are dear to me, I draw the line." Naruto raised his eyes to meet Kurama's. Kurama gulped. Naruto wasn't physically intimidating. He didn't have any of the techniques that the Shodaime or Madara had that made them so fearful. But when he looked in his eyes, he saw a will that was indomitable. No force in the universe would stop this child from achieving his goals. He had proven that by going back in time.

Naruto snapped his fingers and a group of five year old girls appeared around him. Kurama was confused. A shout of "Bunny-chan!" and squeals confused him even more. The children rushed the cage and passed through the bars effortlessly. Kurama went to crush them with his paw and didn't find what he was expecting. His arms were shorter and there were no claws. He also lost control of his tails. When he looked back, he saw a little white tuft where his tails had once been. **_He didn't! _**He looked up and saw two girls hanging from his very rabbit-like ears while giggling the whole time.

**"Change me b…" **He was cut off when felt one of the girls hug him around his neck. **_This doesn't feel unpleasant,_** he thought as his eyes softened ever so slightly. Until the young girl started squeezing, and squeezing, and squeezing.

"Oh look, bunny-chan is turning blue red," one of the children stated.

"Or as most people call it, purple." Naruto face palmed at the comments of his constructs.

"Hey girls look, there's a whole rack of dresses and ribbons you can dress the bunny in." Sure enough, a rack of the aforementioned items appeared.

**"Please no," **Kurama said pitifully. Naruto decided he had learned his lesson and snapped his fingers. The children disappeared as did the wardrobe rack that appeared and Kurama was a fox again. Kurama sighed at the feeling of his own body once more.

"Alright Kurama, I'll stop in to say hi later, and I'll let you know any progress I have on the seal." Naruto wasn't going to lord his victory over the kyubi. He wanted his friend back, and that wouldn't happen with constant reminders of defeat.

**"Gaki," **Kurama called out, **"can you leave the kids? Maybe a little less violent though?"**

"Aww, does the big bad Kyubi like hugs?" Naruto asked babyishly. Naruto laughed at the growl coming from the cage. He snapped his fingers and left to the sound of squeals and laughter.

Naruto had been trying to puzzle out the seal on his stomach. He understood the different parts to it and even understood the filter that was hidden within the seal. The problem he kept running into was the fact it was powered by the shinigami. He was sure he could remove the seal even without the key held by the toads, but he wasn't ready to face Kurama yet. He had time though. He didn't even master his bloodline in his other timeline, but that only meant he was that much closer.

Sounds filtered through the fogginess Naruto felt as he slowly opened his eyes. Blurry images came into focus and found he was staring at the plain white ceiling of the hospital room. Oh how he hated the hospital. The sleeping form of Hinata curled in a chair brought a smile to Naruto's face.

_"Because I love you!" _her voice sounded in his head. She was so sure if it. So sure of her love for him. When they stood against the Juubi hand in hand. When they saw her cousin die in front of her. He desperately wanted to return her feelings; and then her end came. Just like everyone else's. When his bloodline unlocked, everything clicked in his mind. He let out a heavy sigh that belied his young age.

"You'd think it gets easier, you know?" he said quietly towards the window next to his bed. If the dog masked ANBU outside his window was shocked that he was discovered, he didn't show it.

"And what's that Uzumaki-san?"

"Doing what you think is right over what you want for yourself. I find myself looking back on memories more and more these days."

"There's nothing wrong with honoring the past. 'Those who don't learn from the past, are doomed to repeat it'," Kakashi quoted.

"Hai," Naruto replied solemnly. "But those who live in the past are in danger of missing the future." _What happened to the loud, boisterous kid I used to chase after a prank? _Kakashi thought.

"You are very wise for an eleven year old Uzumaki-san."

"It's probably the medicine they gave me."

"How did you sense my presence if I may ask?"

"You'll have to ask jiji about that. He told me it's a SS rank secret." It was at that point that Hiashi Hyuga walked into the room.

"Naruto-san. I'm glad to see you're awake. You have my deepest apologies for what transpired while you were my guest." Hinata rubbed the sleep from her eyes and rushed to Naruto's side upon seeing him awake.

He saw the difference in her immediately. She was experiencing new emotions that were locked away and she was riding a high because of it. She struggled to maintain the stoic demeanor all Hyuga's possess but the smile would not be denied. Her eyes gave her feelings away however. The look of complete adoration from her in his last life wasn't present. Compassion and genuine affection were there, but it was what one would expect from a family member.

"We won't keep you Naruto-san, I just wanted to inform you that the person who attacked you was a branch member with a seal in the same place that my daughter's was. I don't know the reason for the attack, but he is currently staying with Mitirashi-san." Naruto cringed when Hiashi told him the poor fool's fate.

"Don't worry, I'm use to it Hiashi-jiji," _crap, _Naruto thought at the slipup. Hinata openly laughed and Hiashi allowed a small smirk.

"You are welcome to our compound whenever you like. There will always be a room on standby if you wish to stay. Come Hinata, we have training to do."

"Tou-san, can you give me a piggyback ride?" Naruto was able to keep his snicker quiet.

"No Hinata, let's go." Then Hinata did something Naruto thought he'd never see from the once shy girl. She gave him the puppy dog eyes. Hiashi stood firm though. When Hinata's lip started quivering Hiashi turned away and knelt down with a resigned sigh.

This time Naruto did laugh. The head of the Hyuga clan giving piggyback rides. No one would believe him. "Can I trust you to keep this secret Naruto-san?" Hiashi asked hopefully. Naruto pointed to the window behind him. Hiashi turned around to find a bulb flash and the dog masked ANBU holding a camera. Naruto leaned back with a smile despite the dull pain in his stomach.

"Giddy up Tou-san!" The sound of leaves rustling lulled Naruto back to his thoughts. He hoped Kakashi would pick up on the hints he dropped. Kakashi would be a huge factor in the years to come and even a small change for the better could make a difference.

He got out of bed and got dressed in his monstros…er jumpsuit and shunshinned out leaving a bigger mess of leaves.

A doctor chose that moment to walk in and saw the mess on the floor. "Why can't they use money? Or thank you cards?"

Naruto wanted to do something about Sasuke. He didn't feel it was time though. He'd have the opportunity for that when he came back and was put on his team. If he tried now, Sasuke would react negatively, and probably violently. Sakura definitely needed her own wake up call, but he wasn't going to be the one to do that, yet. He really wanted to help Sai, but that would involve Danzo and he was fence sitting that decision.

He decided training was best for him right now. He'd be on the road in a couple days and would train until then. Making a few dozen clones for chakra control, he figured he'd work on getting back into shape. He upped his resistance seal and started his workout routine.

It was evening when he sensed two seals around him. "You can come out. I know you're both there." Two ANBUs with blank masks appeared on either side of Naruto. _Root. What the hell does Danzo want with me? It's not the right time for this._

"Danzo-sama requires your presence," one intoned emotionlessly.

"No thanks," he replied cheerfully. "I gotta get home before dark. I heard bad things happen when the sun goes down."

"It was not a request." The root agent in front of him lunged at him only to grab a Naruto sized exploding tag. The root's eyes widened having never seen an exploding tag that big.

"It's a good thing we're away from anything important. That way if I detonate this, we don't lose 4 or 5 blocks." The two root agents had jumped away from the tag but Naruto set it off anyway. A giant cloud of smoke erupted but there was no explosion. The two root agents surrounded the smoke waiting for the blonde to attempt his escape. They were surprised once again when a wind blew from the center and pushed the cloud out to cover a wider area. The root had no time to react when a finger touched the back of his neck and rendered him unconscious.

When the smoke cleared the second root found neither the blond jinchuriki nor his fellow root. Danzo was going to be pissed off. If he had any feelings, he'd probable be crapping his pants at the moment. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto and one of his clones awkwardly carried the currently sleeping root ANBU to the hokage's office. He used the window to his jiji's office to avoid any unnecessary questions that he would have had to repeat over and over. He knocked on the window and was let in by the sandaime.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" he motioned to the sleeping ANBU.

"I was attacked. They said Danzo wanted to talk to me. I left one but managed to get this one."

"What did you do to him?"

"Sleeping seal at the base of the skull. He'll be out until I remove the seal. I figured you would want him for questioning."

"Unfortunately, we've never been able to get anything from the one's we've captured. They have a seal on their tongue."

"Huh, I was wondering where it was," he said more to himself than to Hiruzen. "Do you trust everyone here?"

Hiruzen nodded. "I trust my guards."

"All three of them?" There was a flurry of activity and then another blank masked ANBU was on the floor next to the first one. Naruto touched the back of his head and put the same seal as the first one had.

"How did you know he was there?"

"I can sense seals, remember? He has the same seal I felt on this one. And you're other two ANBU have seals on their masks." Hiruzen had forgotten about that part of the bloodline actually. "Anywho, let's see what I can do about this seal." Naruto pried open the mouth of one of the root and examined the seal. "This is good work. Very good work actually."

"Is it the same as any of the seals that were put on you?"

"I didn't even think about that, but no. There are too many inconsistencies between this one and mine. The pathways for the matrix are too different. A person tends to follow the same pattern because it's how they think." Three sets of jaws were on the floor. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Uhh, why don't I explain? As you probably know, fuinjutsu isn't just a bunch of lines drawn in a specific pattern. While the chakra in the ink, or blood, plays a vital role, there are other parts that determine how a seal reacts. When chakra is put into a seal to activate it, it follows certain a certain pathway. The entire pathway that chakra follows in a seal is called it's matrix.

That's why exploding tags MUST be made the same way. If you were to draw it the wrong way, even if it looks exactly the same it would react differently. The explosion might come before the timer, or any number of other things." The hokage knew about sealing. Maybe not to the level of Jiraya, but he was no slouch on the subject. Naruto, however, was schooling him much the way Mito Uzumaki had once done.

"But back to him," Naruto reached out and touched the seal which swirled and twisted until it settled and looked much like it had before.

"Did it work?"

"Yup, he won't be able to stop talking about whatever you want now." The three looked at Naruto expectantly. "I'm going to have to explain, huh?" He got three nods in return. "The seal on his tongue, while very good, is very risky. It doesn't actually do anything to the tongue, or mouth in anyway. It's linked to the speech part of the brain. While I don't know a lot about the medical part of all this, I do understand how the seal works. The seal is designed to sort of…freeze its target at specific commands. So basically I changed the seal from freeze to flow."

Naruto removed the sleep seal after the two root were properly restrained. With a yawn, he bid his surrogate grandfather goodnight.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for the questioning? It does relate to you since they did try to apprehend you."

"No thanks jiji, it's a shinobi matter and I don't want you getting an earful from the council because I sat in on an interrogation."

"Alright my boy, I insist you get paid for a b rank mission though. You have provided us with possible information in a matter of village security." Naruto waved to the hokage and his two guards. In a first for Naruto, the two guards bowed deeply to him. Naruto disappeared using his shunshin. In his place was a ghostly form of Hiruzen's long departed wife. It lasted only a moment before it faded.

"Did you two see that?" he asked his guards. They both nodded.

"It was my sister," boar replied.

"Grandfather,"crane said next.

Hiruzen's chuckle turned into full blown laughter. "That boy never ceases to amaze me."

**A/N – I know I took some liberties with sealing in this chapter but that's the good thing about fanfics, you can write them any way you please. Also, in case you're wondering, that was Naruto's own original genjutsu shunshin. **

**Next chapter will be Naruto in a council meeting and a "showdown" with Danzo. Naruto has decided to give him a chance and we'll see what Danzo does with it. **

**In case I didn't mention it before, Naruto will spend some time outside the village before becoming a genin. It'll only be 2 – 3 chapters though so do not despair. Thanks to everyone who's reading and I've made it four chapters without using "like a hot knife through butter" yay!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N – I'm back again pounding out another chapter. I'm really liking this story so far and I hope I don't get burnt out writing it. I read somewhere once that the story writes itself. You'll never understand how true this is until you start writing a story. Random ideas just keep popping in my head that scream "this will fit perfectly here". Alright, enough random rambling. Actually, I might try and fit that into this chapter somewhere. Random Rambling; it has a nice ring to it.**

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for Knighthood"**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

**Kyubi talking**

**_Kyubi thinking_**

**Chapter 5**

Naruto was frustrated. While he had denizens of clones going through chakra control and other ninjutsu related things, he was trying to work out his taijutsu. The problem was the toad style he had worked so hard on wasn't working well because of his muscle memory. His mind was telling his body what to do, but his body was giving his mind the finger and doing the academy form that his instructors worked so hard to sabotage. He needed help to work this out; and he dreaded going to the only two people that could help him.

Green and white. The stuff that gives nightmares bad dreams. Two green form fitting spandex suits and brilliant white teeth that seemed to outshine the sun stood before him.

"Guy-sensei!" Lee shouted despite the incredibly early hour. "Someone has come to join our pre-workout workout."

"How observant," Guy said in a voice that rivaled that of his pupil's. "You will indeed become a great ninja my precious student. Let's see if he wants to join us." As little time as a month ago, Naruto would've been caught up in they're enthusiasm. The fact that they didn't ignore or shun him would have started him down a path that could've possibly turned him into another Guy clone. The thought made him shudder. He pictured Kakashi's reaction to having a mini Guy on the team and busted out laughing.

Guy and Lee didn't know what was going on but they too joined in the laughing. Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and decided to get down to business. He actually remembered turning this idea over in his head in his previous life and thought that now would be the only chance to implement it.

"I need some help with my taijutsu and I heard you're the best in the village fuzzy-brows sensei." He mentally cursed, old habits die hard. Luckily, Guy took it in good humor.

"Shouldn't your teachers at the academy be helping you?" Guy knew who the child was obviously. Even though he acted like he did, he wasn't oblivious to things outside of his little world.

"How bout I show you what they've been teaching me?" Naruto went through his forms taught to him by the academy. It should be pointed out here that there was very little that could actually send Guy into a rage. Right now, however, his face was as red as the time Naruto saw Lee use the gates in the chunin exams.

"How un-(bleeping)-youthful!" he screamed. _Wow, that's new. _Naruto thought amused. After Guy calmed down enough to not want to rush to the academy and destroy it, Naruto told him his plan.

"I'm not asking you to train me in your style, or even the academy style. Hokage-jiji keeps saying I'm the most unpredictable student in the village. So I've been working on my own style to fit that." It wasn't too far from the truth. He had always meant to alter the toad style to fit his unorthodox fighting style. Now that he thought about it, it was probably a blessing that he ran into this problem. He'd just run into it again when he relearned the toad style.

Guy had an idea where he was going with it but wanted the blond jinchuriki to clarify. "What's your request my young friend?" he asked still somewhat miffed.

"I can go through the forms for my made up style fine, but my muscles seem to remember the academy styles. So when I try to go all out, they get mixed up and I end up worse off than before. Is there any way I can stop that?"

"Unlearning muscle memory is never easy. It's often a long and tedious process." Naruto sighed. "But there are things I've learned to help speed up the process." Naruto brightened at this. "Doing physically demanding exercises your body isn't use to. Once you get use to those exercises, you'll have to switch to new exercises. Also, practicing your new style in water." Naruto looked confused at this. "The resistance from the water will help the muscles learn your new style faster." _Looks like it's time to up the resistance seals again,_ he thought. A huge grin spread across his face and he gave into instincts. He rushed over and hugged Guy. Guy may have always been a little weird, but he always had a kind word for Naruto.

"Yosh, would you like to light your flames of youth by running with us?" Lee asked excitedly.

"Not this morning Lee, but thank you for the offer." Lee nodded before adorning a puzzled look.

"How do you know my name?"

_Damn it! I've got to be more careful._ "Are you kidding? Everyone's talking about the genius of hard work that's going to graduate without being able to do any ninjutsu and genjutsu." Lee's eyes turned into flames. _And he says he can't do genjutsu_.

"Yosh, Lee, your legend begins already! We must train for you to realize your potential." Naruto decided to cut them off before he got caught in that horrible genjutsu.

"Umm, there was one more thing." They both turned to him, "I recently learned about how Uzumakis were famous for fuinjutsu and I started working on it. It came surprisingly easy to me," he hesitated on continuing. Despite the memories and knowledge he now had, he still didn't like rejection. He took a deep breath, "I made this seal for Lee when I heard about his problem." He held out a paper with one of the most complicated seals Guy had ever seen. "It should allow Lee to store chakra into wherever the seal is placed." Lee had tears in his eyes. No one but Guy had ever done so much for him. "I'd recommend keeping it away from the torso area though; it would mess with the chakra network in his organs."

"How do you know so much about this?" Guy asked hopefully but with a hint of suspicion.

"When I go to the hospital because of…accidents," he didn't have to mention the attacks from the villagers for Guy to understand. "Some of the doctors and nurses are really nice and explain stuff to me." He motioned to the seal now in Guy's hand. "That won't ever be able to store enough to use jutsus but if he puts it on the bottoms of his feet, he'll be able to walk on walls and water. He can also put it on his muscles for a quick boost of strength or speed."

"We shall put this to use right away!" Guy shouted.

"Whoa, before you just slap it on somewhere, you should have a medic-nin advise you on the best place to put them. You might also want to make them permanent. If the seal happened to come off with all that chakra stored, it could tear muscles and damage the chakra network even more."

Guy nodded in agreement. "You're right." He turned to Lee. "We must be patient my precious student. The flames of youth must be stoked from a small flame."

"You are very wise Guy-sensei," Naruto cocked his head to the side waiting for the next part which was inevitable, "and YOUTHFUL!" Naruto nodded his head and chuckled. _And that's my cue to leave._ Naruto started to leave not daring to look back in case that horrid genjutsu that shall not be named was active.

"My friend," Guy yelled from behind him. Naruto stopped and did not turn around but tilted his head up indicating he was listening. "You have my sincerest thanks." "Mine as well!" Lee interrupted. Guy continued, "If you ever need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

Naruto nodded. "One more piece of advice," he said over his shoulder, "have at least a seal expert apply all the seals. If it's done improperly, it would be bad for Lee-san." With a wave of his hand he disappeared in a shunshin. Both Lee and Guy saw ghostly figures of each other.

Konoha got an early wakeup call in the form of dual voices shouting "YOOOUUUUTTTTHHHH!".

The purple haired cat masked ANBU dropped onto the balcony of an apartment. Not sensing anyone nearby, she removed her mask and stepped inside. Being in ANBU meant never having a boring day. Even when nothing was happening and there were no missions outside the village, there was always someone to spy on. The last week had been slower though considering there hadn't been any code oranges. That had put the entire ANBU on edge. No pranks from Naruto meant one of two things, either he was kidnapped, and/or dead; or, he was planning a prank so big that Konoha's forces would be cleaning up the mess for months.

When Yugao saw the scroll on her table, she grabbed a kunai and again spread her senses. She hadn't felt anyone and there didn't seem to be any tampering with the seal outside her apartment. She cautiously approached the scroll still suspecting foul play. She carefully unrolled it and scanned for any traps before reading.

_Dear cat-san,_

_I'm sorry for invading your home without your knowledge but ANBU are very suspicious all the time. I want to thank you for all the kindness you've shown me when not a lot others have. Ha, listen to me talk like I'm dying or something. _

_Anyway, I don't have a lot of money and shop owners won't let me in anyway so I couldn't get you a proper gift. I did come across a seal made by the Uzumaki clan that was used for diagnosis and treatment. _

_Hope you put it to good use._

_The Great Invader, Naruto Uzumaki_

_p.s. That seal was mainly used for respiratory conditions. _

_p.p.s The hokage would probably label this as an S rank secret at least. So you might want to talk to him before telling anyone else._

There was a storage seal at the bottom of the page which Yugao was hesitant to activate. How did Naruto get past the seals into her apartment in the first place? How did he find any fuinjutsu from the Uzumakis that wasn't already pilfered? And who wrote the letter, because it definitely didn't sound like an educationally stunted eleven year old who could barely read two years ago wrote that. The message wasn't lost on her though. There was possibly a seal in there that could help her boyfriend. While his chronic cough didn't disable him, it did hinder his potential.

She lightly touched the storage seal and channeled chakra through it. Another scroll appeared in a cloud of smoke which she quickly unrolled. A very complicated seal was displayed. Tears appeared at the corners of her eyes as she hugged the scroll to her chest. She stayed like that until a weird beeping noise sounded from the original scroll still on the table. Orange paint exploded covering her entire dining room.

"NNNNNNAAAAAARRRRRRUUUUUUTTTTTOOOOO!" sounded across the village as the first rays of sun peaked over the horizon.

Naruto grinned taking a break from his spar. _It never gets old._

It was a couple days later that Naruto was "escorted" by a cat masked ANBU to the hokage's office.

"Naruto, what happened?" Hiruzen pointed at the large lump on Naruto's forehead. He felt the KI from cat leveled at Naruto.

"I fell," Naruto replied a little too quickly. Hiruzen just chuckled.

"You should be careful," he had no doubt Naruto probably deserved it. "The reason I called you here was the seals you've been giving away recently." Naruto held up a hand. He nodded over to the window which Cat was already moving towards. She opened the window and pulled in Kakashi.

"Yo," he didn't even look up from his orange book.

"Is there something I can help you with Kakashi?" Hiruzen was a little annoyed at being interrupted. He shouldn't have been surprised though. Anything having to do with Naruto was bound to be unpredictable.

"I just got done helping Guy with something. His uncovered eye turned to Naruto. It seems as if a blonde boy gave him a very complicated seal to use on his student. I thought you should be made aware before it was applied."

"He came to me yesterday to examine the seal and get my approval. Interesting he would go to you after visiting me."

Kakashi managed to look sheepish. "Well, it might have been a few days ago."

"I appreciate your timely fashion in this situation."

"Sorry hokage-sama, the road of life is long and has a lot of turns." Hiruzen sighed.

"Oi, doggy-chan, can't ninja's just jump over the turns or something?" Kakashi eye smiled but wasn't fooled by the blonde. Being recognized as the dog ANBU wasn't that difficult with his hair, but the blonde boy new a lot more than he let on.

"I'll be sure to try that next time."

Naruto was going to try one more time to motivate his past and possibly future sensei. "I got lost on a road once, and I was trying to get to Ichiraku's cause they have the best ramen anywhere and I didn't make it in time. And they were counting on my business cause they say I'm their number one customer and Teuchi-jiji couldn't pay for his inventory for the next week so they had to close up until they made the money back." Naruto rubbed his eyes as if he were crying. Of course it was all made up, but Kakashi wouldn't know that unless he was a regular. "They almost lost their business because I wasn't on time."

"It was a sad week indeed when they weren't open, I often visit them for lunch," Hiruzen backed Naruto's story.

Memories of Obito running off in the opposite direction as him flashed through Kakashi's mind. He shook the memories away and questioned the boy on the seal. "How exactly did you come up with that seal?"

Naruto spoke without getting permission from the hokage. "My mother left a note for me on my body. When I turned eleven, the seal activated and I got the letter along with the sealing notes she left. She said the Uzumakis were famous for sealing and I took an interest in it. There was a seal used as an example in the notes. It was used by Uzumakis because of our larger than normal chakra reserves. It would limit how much chakra was used in the body. I just reversed some of the seals and left the limiter on but I keyed the limiter to whatever part of the body it was applied. That was the hardest part."

Kakashi was not an idiot by any means. He was actually pretty knowledgeable when it came to seals seeing as how he was a student of the fourth hokage. But reversing a chakra limiting seal and then keying the limiter to a part of the body so it stores chakra? It should be impossible.

"Lee-san can't use chakra because of his underdeveloped network though, so how's he going to store it?"

"Chakra still flows through his body, otherwise he wouldn't be alive. A Hyuga would be able to close his tenketsu and disable him just like anyone else. The chakra should store in each of the seals little by little and with practice, he'll be able to release the stored chakra in any or all of the seals. He'll never be able to do ninjutsu, but it should help him out a little."

_An absolute prodigy. You would be proud sensei. _Kakashi silently intoned.

"Was there anything else Kakashi?"

"Nope, that's it." He eye smiled, "ja-ne." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. _Doesn't anyone use the door anymore? _Hiruzen thought with a sigh.

"Do you trust everyone in here hokage-sama?" That got the aged leaders attention. For Naruto to call him by his title was serious. Hiruzen nodded and Naruto walked over to the door pressing his hand against it. A seal formed at his hand and lines shot out across the walls, ceiling and floor occasionally forming another seal in random places. Hiruzen recognized the privacy seals adorning his office but they looked to be a much more powerful version. He was again amazed at the Uzumaki bloodline and grateful he was privy to the secret Naruto had shared with him.

Hiruzen decided to start off the questioning. "Why have you been giving out the seals Naruto? We both agreed to keep it secret."

"I know jiji, and I've kept most of it a secret, my bloodline…and the other thing. Some people deserve some happiness though. You take time out of your busy schedule to take me to lunch and give me advice, why shouldn't I do what I can for others?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was never more proud of Naruto than he was at that moment.

"Okay, just try and be discreet about it. Next, those two seals you gave out had a lot to do with the body. Was what you were telling Kakashi the truth?"

"No, I had to lie to him and Yugao-chan. The truth is that in my other life, Sakura-chan was a very talented medic-nin apprenticed under Tsunade. I remember approaching her with the idea of seals that would help in the hospitals. Sakura-chan was excited about it and Baa-chan was ecstatic about the idea."

"So you have medic training?" Hiruzen asked.

Naruto laughed loudly. "Baa-chan wanted to see if I had any talent for it once despite my horrible chakra control. She said I found a new level to how dead something could be." Hiruzen laughed with Naruto but Yugao was stunned at the implications she was hearing.

The sandaime turned to her, "everything we discussed is a double S ranked secret." She nodded her understanding. "Did the chief medic clear the seal to be used on Hayate-san?"

"Hai hokage-sama. He said it was an incredible stride in the medical field. I assume you don't want him to know it was young Uzumakis design?"

"Stick with the original cover story. That way the Uzumakis still get credit and the spot light won't be on Naruto as much. Naruto, we have a council meeting to attend to. While the cover story is good enough to deflect most attention, the council has requested your presence. I'm afraid they're going to be after the notes you said your mother left you."

"It's okay jiji, just follow my lead."

"Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Naruto laughed and disabled the privacy seals. Naruto, Hiruzen, and his two ANBU guards made their way to the council meeting. Out of a shadowed corner of the office a figure stepped out. How he managed to blend in with the shadows wearing a bright orange jumpsuit is a mystery that no one may ever be able to solve. His bright blue eyes quickly scanned the room until he found the objects he was looking for.

"Naruto Uzumaki," Koharu, the aged advisor, spoke sternly, "you are hereby ordered to hand over the notes to the council to be put to use for the sake of the village." There were many scowls present in the room. Some, mostly from the civilian council side, were directed at Naruto. The others were directed at Koharu and these were most prominent on the faces of the clan heads.

"Umm, I can't."

"We demand…" she started again even more sternly. The clan heads were outraged that they were demanding a clan's jutsu. They only stayed their tongues because the hokage had yet to interject.

"I can't because the scrolls burned up. I went to hokage-jiji to have him help me with some stuff and as soon as he touched it, the scrolls caught on fire."

"Young Uzumaki is correct. While it would have been invaluable to both the village and him, I fear the knowledge in those scrolls is lost."

"That does sound like something the Uzumaki would do, they prided themselves on secrecy when it came to fuinjutsu," Homura, the other advisor to the hokage, stated.

"Then how did he make the seal for the Rock boy?" she asked stubbornly.

"There was a picture of it in the scroll I remembered and jiji helped me change it for him. He said since it was an Uzumaki design, I could give it to Bushy brows as a present." Hiruzen nodded in agreement again. Inside he was laughing his ass off though. If Yugao wasn't wearing her ANBU mask, everyone would see her face contorted from trying not to laugh. An eleven year old was running circles around the hokage's advisors.

"You will write down everything you remember in the scroll then." Naruto was seriously starting to get pissed. He desperately wanted to keep up his façade of an idiot child for the civilian council, but they were going too far.

"Those are mine. I didn't even know I had a clan and now that I do you can't take them from me," he shouted indignantly."

Hiashi, the epitome of aloofness, spoke next. "Uzumaki-san has a valid point. As a recognized clan, he is not required to give any original jutsus to the council or the hokage."

"The Uzumakis are not recognized though," a civilian member shouted. Naruto had had enough. Consequences be damned. He turned to the hokage and leveled him with a smoldering glare.

"Put an end to this jiji, or I swear you'll have to rename Konoha to the Village Drowning in Pranks by the end of the week."

Hiruzen Sarutobi had survived all three Shinobi Wars. He had fought entire armies and won. He was labeled the God of Shinobi. Hiruzen Sarutobi gulped. This was no idle threat. If anyone could make that claim and back it up, it was Naruto. And that was before he had gained all his memories and knowledge.

"Uzumaki will not be required to turn over any jutsus to the village if he does not want to," Hiruzen declared.

"Hokage-sama, are you going to let the de- err, boy threaten you?" Now Hiruzen was getting pissed off. Naruto's speech to him was absolutely correct. This was a dictatorship. No one in the village outranked him. He slammed his hand down on the table making everyone jump.

"The Uzumaki clan always has been and always will be a recognized clan in Konoha. My sensei's wife was Mito Uzumaki. The Uzumaki and the Senju have since been linked and will always share that kinship. Unless you're telling me that the Senju are no longer a recognized clan?" The offending civilian didn't know whether to shake his head yes or no. He just didn't want to anger the hokage anymore than he already had. He slouched down in his seat further.

"I know why you all hate me," Naruto said quietly. Surprised looks were found around the table. One of the civilian council members jumped up and pointed his finger at Naruto.

"So you know. Do you admit to being the kyubi?"

_Kurama, you're going to want to watch my memories of this. It should be good._ Kurama didn't answer, but anything having to do with his container was bound to be interesting.

"Kyubi?" Naruto asked trying to sound as much as a scared child as possible. "I thought it was because of the pranks I always played." The standing civilian's mouth was wide open. "Jiji?"

"I'm sorry Naruto, I can't tell you," the hokage once again played along. "It's an S rank secret."

"What happens to him then?"

"He'll have to die. That's the punishment for breaking that law."

"Okay," Naruto said happily. The civilian actually started to cry when an ANBU appeared behind him. Naruto started laughing loudly. Yugao was struggling so hard to keep from laughing. She was sure there was a medical condition that arose from holding in laughter. "It's okay jiji, I've known about the fox for a little while now."

"It's still a law Naruto-kun. He must be punished."

Naruto adopted a thinking pose. "How about this," he said after a minute, "for the rest of his life in this village, he has to greet me properly with a smile, allow me into any business he owns, charge me a fair price, and is not allowed to badmouth me or agree with anything negatively said." The civilian immediately nodded. "Punishable by death." The civilian blanched but nodded again.

"Anything else that needs to be addressed before the meeting is adjourned?" The civilians were properly cowed by the punishment of their fellow member, Tsume Inuzuka was still recovering from her laughing fit that she didn't bother to hide unlike Yugao, and Danzo was oddly quiet but glaring at Naruto.

"**Flesh bag, someone is trying to use a very subtle genjutsu on you."**

_Looks like I'll have to deal with Danzo sooner than I really wanted. Can you keep the genjutsu off me while I deal with him?_

**"Hmph, I'm the kyubi, that's child's play for me." **Naruto didn't mention the fact that Kurama had fallen to a genjutsu twice before.

_Thanks Kurama, you're a good friend._

**"I'm not your friend!"**

_I can't hear you fuzzy. _Naruto sang in his mind.

"Actually, jiji, just to make everyone happy, I will explain a jutsu I invented. I just don't want to give any of my family's secrets away." The hokage nodded not knowing where this was headed. It's that shunshin I showed you the other night.

"You can already do a shunshin?" Tsume asked surprised.

"Yup, I went to a training ground I always practice at and there was a jonin explaining it to his student. He said that people use leaves and other things as distractions. So I made one of my own after I practiced the shunshin enough." Naruto was getting pretty good at lying if he did say so himself.

"What kind did you make?" Hiashi asked this time.

"A genjutsu shunshin."

"I didn't think you could use genjutsu Naruto," the hokage asked. He was genuinely interested in how Naruto was able to do this.

"I still can't do the bunshin, but I remember my teacher explaining different kinds of genjustus. I still can't do the ones you put on a certain person, or a bunshin cause it takes too little chakra for me, but I can do a wide area genjutsu. All I have to do is flood an area with chakra while thinking about the image, and the shunshin activates it on anyone in the area."

"Can you demonstrate?"

"Sure jiji!" Naruto held the ram seal even though he didn't need it. He had been releasing chakra in the room since he started. "Shunshin!" he shouted out and disappeared. Everyone saw a ghostly figure in the spot that Naruto was previously at. The figure was different for each person. While everyone was focused on the image, Naruto appeared next to Danzo and stomped his foot on the ground encasing them in his personal dimension seal.

"What's going on?" Danzo demanded ready to defend any attack.

"I just wanted to talk privately." Danzo noticed the blue light around them and the unmoving gray world around them. "I'm going to make this quick. I know about root. I know your plans to turn me into a weapon for you. I know a lot of the things you've done after you 'retired'.

"I also know that you love this village. You want to make sure that Konoha maintains its status as the strongest village. I don't agree with your methods, but I'm going to give you a chance. Continue protecting the village that we both love.

"But be warned, if your ambitions hurt anyone I care about, I will end you, and all the sharingans in the world won't save you." Naruto leveled Danzo with intent. But it wasn't KI like Danzo had expected. It felt like pure determination. Naruto didn't just believe in what he said, he was determined to make it happen. Danzo was stupefied. He had no counters for this boy's declaration. He wasn't sure if he should make any. The demon container had caught him completely by surprise and for the first time in a very long time, Danzo was unsure of what to do.

"Will they be aware of any of this?" Danzo had finally found his voice.

Naruto didn't trust to give all the information away to Danzo, but found no harm in answering the posed question. "No, the seal at my feet creates a pocket dimension that is slightly out of phase with time. A half second goes by for them while we're in here."

Danzo wanted more information but knew the boy wouldn't give any up. Naruto dropped the barrier and everyone was still fixated on the genjutsu left by Naruto.

"You'll give this to the village Naruto?" Hiruzen asked, staring at the fading image of his departed wife.

"Sure jiji, as long as the Uzumaki clan gets credit."

"Of course my boy, of course."

"I'll be sure to write it down before I leave on my trip."

"What?!" both Hiruzen and Danzo shouted at the same time.

"Oh, did I forget to mention that?"

**A/N – I know the end felt rushed, but a lot will be explained in the next chapter. Danzo has to calm down and think clearly before he makes a decision on his path for the future and Naruto has to find a way to leave without tails. Again, hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing it. If you have any ideas about which way Danzo should proceed, I'm always open to suggestions. Thanks again.**


	6. Chapter 6

Memories from Yet to Come

**A/N – I want to apologize about the long wait for this. Work has been kicking my ass lately and I've had little to no time to write. Hopefully my schedule will calm down enough to allow me to write more often. **

**Just a note, I did alter a minor character's age for a minor pairing in this. I've personally never seen this pairing before and thought it would work well for both individuals. **

**Thanks again to everyone who reads and reviews. As much as I enjoy writing, it wouldn't be nearly as fulfilling with no feedback.**

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for Knighthood"**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

**Kyubi talking**

**_Kyubi thinking_**

Chapter 6

"Oh, did I forget to mention that?"

"Yes!" Hiruzen and Danzo shouted. The aged hokage let out a weary sigh. "You can't just leave Naruto."

"And why's that hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, suspicious that he was being led into a corner. He couldn't see how he was wrong though so he continued. "You need to be accompanied by a guardian or be an adult to exit the village." Naruto's smile widened. _Crap,_ the sandaime thought.

"Who pays my landlord the money I get Jiji?"

"You do," the hokage answered already knowing where this was going. "But I am the one to provide you with said money."

"Who looks after me? Makes sure I eat right, take baths when I'm supposed to?" No one had an answer. "I know why you gave me my own place Jiji, and I thank you for it. But the truth is that when you did that, you made me my own guardian, and since I'm not a ninja, you can't order me to stay."

"What will you do for money though? It's dangerous out there for a child, especially when that child doesn't have money to eat."

"That's no problem, since I know about my family now; I'll just pull some money from the bank. I'm sure that there should be some money left from my clan."

The hokage was about to respond when one of the civilian council members laughed loudly. Naruto recognized him as an owner of a very popular restaurant that refused to serve him. "You're an orphan, you have no clan."

"Didn't we already discuss this? I am an Uzumaki. The Uzumaki are a recognized clan. Besides, the Konoha bank uses a blood seal for each clan's account."

The council member smirked in victory. "That is true, but if a clan dies out, the council can vote to unlock an account and put its assets towards the good of the village. You were not officially recognized as a clan heir and the accounts were siphoned."

Naruto's eyes widened, as did the hokage's. They didn't expect this. Danzo maintained his emotionless expression. _They've taken everything from me. Everything!_ He had to force himself to calm down. He was so close to killing the lot of them that he briefly wondered if this was the same path Gaara had taken. Naruto schooled his expression. _Uh oh,_ thought the entire Shinobi Council.

Naruto's voice carried cool and even. "Esteemed council, honored elders, revered Hokage-sama; in accordance with Article 238 of Konoha's charter and laws, Konoha has broken the contract established with the Uzumaki clan. The Uzumaki clan is allowed to reclaim any and all gifts and contributions given during the time of the contract negotiations." Many of the shinobi council gasped while most of the civilians looked lost.

"Naruto, you…you can't," Hiruzen pleaded.

Everyone in the room witnessed something new, a very angry Naruto Uzumaki. Gone was the perpetually smiling Naruto, the boy who did nothing more than pranked you if you slighted him in some way. "They," he pointed to the civilian, "broke the law and in doing so nullified the agreement between Konoha and my clan!"

"Let the brat go, what can he possibly take from us? Some money? Ha. I say let him." The hokage was astounded at the stupidity of the council.

"The barrier," Hiashi said quietly. "You've all just taken the one thing that gave us the edge over the other villiages."

Danzo was scared. He wasn't angry. He wasn't thinking about his next scheme for power or how to manipulate the next person to be his pawn.. In his own twisted way, everything he had done had been for the betterment of Konoha. He knew that there was no sealing master close enough to the Uzumaki's that could replicate the barrier around Konoha. Even Jiraya, the foremost sealing master in the Elemental Nations, couldn't begin to understand where to start. No, Danzo was truly scared because he was the one to push for the Uzumaki fortune to be siphoned.

"Naruto, we can work something out. Your parents gave a lot to protect this village. They wouldn't want you to cripple the village like this."

"'Gave a lot?'" He repeated. "They gave everything! Their lives and their son's life, and this is how they're repaid?" Naruto took a deep breath. He never meant for it to go this far. "They," Naruto emphasized, "have till the end of the day to return every single ryo. If it's not in the clan account by the time I leave at sundown, I remove the barrier." Everyone let out a sigh. "I'm serious jiji, I don't want you or the other clans paying if you didn't have anything to do with it." Naruto turned to leave before looking at the shinobi side of the table. "It makes you wonder, if they were able to take one clan's holdings, what's to stop them from taking another's?" The growl let out by Tsume had the civilians in the room sweating. A loud pop followed by smoke showed that Naruto was actually a shadow clone.

Chaos erupted following the clone's dispelling. "Silence!" Hiruzen thundered. "We have until sundown to figure this out and no one is leaving until we do. I'm only going to offer this once. If the guilty parties confess and the money is returned, then I'll only push for heavy fines and removal from the council."

Homura was the one to speak first. "Sarutobi, the money was put into various funds for the village."

"I've seen no additional funds added anywhere due to clan contributions. Want to try again?"

"It happened several years ago, perhaps you've forgotten."

"Then give me dates, and we'll see. However, if you're lying to me, then you will be charged with treason."

"You can't do that!"

"You're a member of my council which means you're as much under my command as any shinobi. If I order you to stand on your head for the entire meeting then you'll do it!" Hiruzen took a calming breath before continuing. "Give me the dates so I can review the records and if what you say is true then I'll take the money from the coffers."

"I might have been mistaken Hokage-sama."

"Of course, this whole incident is one big mistake." He looked towards his advisors and the civilian side of the table. "You really don't have any idea what you've done, do you? One of the main reasons we've won all three shinobi wars is because of the barrier surrounding Konoha. Unless you know how to bypass it, which is almost impossible, we'd be alerted to any foreign presence in the village immediately. It's why we're the hardest nation to spy on. The only village that had a better barrier in place was Uzushio. If word gets out that our barrier is down," he let his speech hang there.

"Hokage-sama, can't we just replace it from the treasury? I'm sure he wouldn't know."

"We can't risk that. He is a master of seals not seen since Uzushio. He might be listening in right now for all we know. No, we broke the contract and we have to do this his way if we want to keep the barrier."

No one spoke. _Well, if no one wants to fess up, I'll move on to plan B._ "No one wants to speak up? ANBU!" The elders and the civilian council were squirming in their seats. It was never good when ANBU was called. "Send for Anko Mitarashi. Oh, and tell her the council is trying to have dango banned from Konoha." Several of the council members fainted.

Naruto was walking down the street with Choji when his clone dispelled. The growl that left his throat didn't go unnoticed by Choji. He quickly quelled his anger. "Sorry, guess I'm a little hungry." Choji offered him his ever present bag of chips. "Let's get some ramen instead." Choji nodded in agreement and they took off for Ichiraku's.

Despite the memories and skills he had gained, he was glad that at least a part of him was still his old self. It drove him crazy sometimes. The memories were hard to separate.

"Why are you so quiet lately? You've changed a lot the last few weeks."

Naruto desperately wanted someone to talk to about what was going on. He loved talking to his surrogate grandfather, but he was a busy man and Naruto couldn't take up all of his time. "If you didn't become a ninja, what would you do?"

Choji thought for a second and took another bite. "I don't know. Everyone in my family has always been ninjas."

"Say you didn't become a ninja, then you met another you that did become a ninja, would you still be the same?"

Choji was lost. He tried to puzzle his way through what Naruto had said. This was more Shikamaru's area than his. Seeing the desperation on his friend's face he decided to answer as best he could. "When I got scared of not being able to pass the genin exam, my dad sat me down and told me something. He said even if I don't become a shinobi, I'll always be an Akimichi, and I'd always be his son."

_That's right, even if I don't follow the path my other self took, I'll always be the son of the Yondaime and the red hot-blooded habanero. And I'll still keep my promise; I'll become the Orange Hokage. _Naruto had felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't have to follow the same path as his future self. Following the same path as others was never his style to begin with. That was his main reason for leaving the village after all, so he didn't do everything his future self had done. He would use his memories and knowledge as he saw fit, and make his own mistakes if necessary. _No matter what happens, I will protect those precious to me._

"Thanks Choji." Choji smiled and got one of Naruto's genuine smiles in return. Choji knew it was very rare he let those out.

They sat down at the ramen bar and Teuchi's face broke into a smile seeing his favorite customer. "Ojisan(uncle) two miso ramen's for me and whatever Choji wants."

"Coming right up Naruto!" Teuchi disappeared into the back and a thirteen year old Ayame came out.

"Hey otouto (younger brother)."

"Hi nee-chan(older sister), do you know Choji?" She shook her head no. "This is Choji Akimichi of the Akimichi clan."

"Oh, your family owns all those restaurants." Choji nodded still not saying anything. Naruto broke out into a grin. "Hold on, your first orders are up, I'll be right out." She disappeared into the back.

"She's your sister?" Choji finally got his voice back.

"Not my real sister, but she and Teuchi-ojisan took care of me a lot when I couldn't always find food." Choji nodded in understanding. "She wants to be a master chef and train in a lot of different styles. So she helps her dad out so they can earn money to train under other chefs." Choji's eyes widened and a surprised smile appeared on his face. Ayame chose that moment to emerge from the back carrying two big bowls of noodles.

"You know Choji is in the academy to be a ninja but he also said he helps out in his family's restaurants sometimes."

"Really? I love your family's BBQ restaurant. That's my favorite place to eat." Choji just nodded until he got an elbow in the ribs from Naruto.

"I help," he started in a high pitched voice before clearing his throat. Naruto chuckled as did Teuchi. "I help prep the food sometimes when my mother visits to do paperwork. The chef is a really nice guy."

"I would love to work in a kitchen like that."

"I could introduce you to the chef. Maybe he could show you some things," Choji said nervously. He was afraid of the forthcoming rejection. He wasn't really even asking her out, but he knew it would end the same way it always did. What he didn't expect was for an ear piercing squeal and an Ayame turned human bullet to be launched over the counter hugging him.

Naruto looked over at Teuchi who was smiling contently. He put some ryo on the counter and disappeared in his signature shunshin. Teuchi's eyes widened when he saw an image of his deceased wife smiling at him from the same seat Naruto occupied moments ago. Neither Ayame nor Choji noticed Naruto's departure.

A hundred clones trained in a clearing in the forest of death. Most were working on the altered version of the toad style while the rest were practicing various ninjutsu. He'd gotten his chakra control up to the point where he could make a rasengan on water without a clone. While his chakra control would never be good enough to do medic jutsus, he had mastered every control exercise he knew. Until he learned a better one, he was stuck. That's why he decided to work on getting the ninjutsus he did know as mastered as he could. It was incredibly useful to be able to do the shadow clone sealless.

While his clones worked on that, the original was meditating. He was trying to see how balanced his chakra was. He had been working on his physical conditioning everyday while constantly upping his resistance seals.

He ended up in the sewer and decided to pay a visit to Kurama. He walked up to the cage and was about to greet the giant fox when he heard a growl and a claw shot out at him. He jumped back with the claw barely missing him.

"What gives Kurama?"

"**You lied!"**

"I always keep my word, that's my nindo!"

"**You promised you would work on the seal! I've seen you memories. You'll look at the seal for a couple minutes and then stop. With your bloodline limit, it should be no problem to alter the seal."**

"Do you have any idea what I'm dealing with?"

**"Yes! A seal…"**

"Powered by the death god! Do you have any idea what happens if I alter a seal powered by a god? Best case scenario, we both explode." Kurama was stunned. In all honesty, he'd forgotten the whole shinigami part. His last two hosts had seals that they could alter at will.

"**So what are you doing about it? Giving up?"**

"Ha! Naruto Uzumaki doesn't give up. I can't get the key my father left, at least not yet." Kurama's head drooped a little. "So that's why I'm making my own." His head shot up at this.

"**Is that even possible?"**

**"**Of course it's possible. I'm doing it and I'm…"

**"Yes yes yes, you're great, you're awesome, just hurry it up." **He said dismissively.

Naruto chuckled. "I'm almost done actually, I've just gotta double check some stuff before I give it a run through."

"**What happens if your key doesn't work?"**

"Umm, your cage becomes a little smaller." Naruto said holding his forefinger and thumb apart.

"**How small?" **Kurama asked now very suspicious.

"Umm, carry size?" Kurama blanched.

"**Take your time, don't mess up."**

"Alright fuzzy. I'm gonna go do, umm, stuff."

"**I'm serious gaki!" **he said to the rapidly retreating Naruto. "**I do not want to wind up in a two foot cage!"** **_This is not going to end well. _**

Naruto was sorting through his memories from his clones. All he needed was experience fighting against other opponents to find the holes and it would be complete. The joys of shadow clones were a wondrous thing. Using just a hundred shadow clones to practice his new taijutsu for 3 days netted him almost 300 days of practice. It was then that Naruto saw a dust cloud moving towards him. He had a feeling he knew who it was.

"Yosh! Uzumaki-san, it's good to see you still fanning the Flames of YOUTH!"

Naruto chuckled, "It's just Naruto. Did you go by the hospital yet?"

"Yes my eternal rival," Lee answered for his sensei, "they have never seen a seal like that before so they are testing it first." Naruto shook his head.

"They're going to tell you that it didn't work." That drew the confused looks from the two lookalikes. "That seal was designed for a person whose chakra system is damaged. It won't work on animals because they can't channel chakra and it won't work on civilians because they're chakra coils are underdeveloped, not damaged."

Guy looked at Naruto inquisitively. "How do you know so much about this stuff?"

Naruto looked down at his feet. "I don't have a lot of friends. One of my friends was a medic ninja and I would listen to her talk about what she was learning all the time. I started to pick up on some of it after a while." Guy was thinking about all the time Naruto must have spent in the hospital because of his burden. Naruto struck a thinking pose. "You know, the hokage owes me a favor, have him charge me for an A-rank mission to have Jiraya put the seals on."

"You've already done too much for my pupil Naruto-san, I couldn't have you pay for an A-rank as well. I shall commission Jiraya for this, and if I can't I'll do five thousand one arm pushups."

"Yes sensei! If you cannot do that than I shall do five thousand no hand pushups." Naruto had to stop this head on before it got any worse. He shivered at the thought of being in that sunset genjutsu again.

"Maybe you can help me out with something Lee?"

"Yosh, anything my rival!"

"I think I've got my taijutsu style down, I was hoping for a spar?" Guy's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"It's only been a few hours, you couldn't have fixed your muscle memory problem already." Naruto wasn't sure if he was asking or telling him.

"Not yet, but I've had shadow clones work on my style for three straight days now and I've been increasing my resistance seals a lot. I just want to see how far I've come." Lee didn't say anything but settled into his stance. Naruto got into his and barely had time to react before Lee rocketed forward aiming a punch at his head. He had forgotten how fast Lee was and lost himself in the fight.

He remembered hearing a conversation his old sensei had with some of the other jonin sensei's.

_Flashback (I try not to do these when possible, but when I do, they'll be short-ish)_

_Naruto was working harder than ever. He had been humiliated in the bell test and the teme (bastard) had managed to touch a bell when all he got was finger poked in the ass. Not only that, but he got caught trying to steal the lunches and tied to a post in front of Sakura-chan. If that wasn't bad enough, he had to be saved twice by Sasuke during the mission in wave country. He decided to work on his stealth to begin with and who better to sneak up on than ANBU's. _

_It surprised him to see Kakashi-sensei talking to a couple ANBU outside of the hokage tower. _If I can sneak up on them, maybe Kakashi-sensei will teach me some awesome jutsus, and then Sakura-chan will see how awesome I am and want to go on a date with me. _He got close enough to hear what they were saying but gave no indication to knowing he was there._

_"So the Uchiha is on your team, huh? Is he the genius everyone says he is?" The snake ANBU asked._

_"He is that. Taijutsu is already mid to high genin, and ninjutsu is low chunin already. He picks things up quickly and is pretty aware of his surroundings."_

_"Who else do you have?" Rat asked._

_"Sakura Haruno, kunoichi of the year. Academy level in just about everything. She is very smart though and probably has excellent chakra control. Then there's Naruto Uzumaki."_

_"The dem- umm, dead last I'm guessing? Think he'll drag the other two down?" Naruto waited with bated breath for his sensei's evaluation of him._

_"His taijutsu is the worst of the three and he has horrible chakra control." Naruto was devastated. "He doesn't think things through and is almost completely unaware of his surroundings." Naruto had vowed a long time ago not to cry anymore but he was pretty close to it at the moment. The two ANBU nodded to each other figuring everything they heard was correct. "He doesn't know the meaning of the word 'quit' however. His chakra levels are already nearing kage level, his strength is high chunin and he's an absolute genius when it comes to battle instincts." Naruto was blown away. Few people ever had a kind word to say about him. Naruto took his sensei's words to heart and left to revise his training. _

_Flashback end_

Naruto dropped his resistance seals a few levels and let his instincts take over. Even with the increase in speed, to which Guy raised an eyebrow, everyone one of Naruto's blows were dodged or blocked. Lee was just as tough as Naruto remembered. After Naruto's barrage of punches and kicks Naruto jumped back and created ten clones.

Lee's jaw dropped but Naruto quickly spoke up, "They're not going to fight, I just want them to see the fight from every angle so I know where to improve."

The stars in Lee's eyes led to another sigh from Naruto. He waited for it…"YOSH! Your flames burn so bright Naruto-kun! Could you do the same for me Guy-sensei?" That peaked Naruto's interest.

"Of course my talented pupil." Ten shadow clones appeared around Guy and surrounded them with Naruto's clones. Naruto and Lee launched at each other trading blows but not hitting either. Naruto's uniquely unorthodox style negated Lee's strength and speed. The match ended when Lee launched his Leaf Whirlwind. Naruto ducked under the high kick but saw it as a feint too late to dodge the following low kick. Naruto jumped slightly twisting his body so it was almost upside down. This let him take the low kick in the chest while he lashed out with his foot connecting to Lee's neck. The two were found several feet from each other with Naruto sitting down rubbing his chest and Lee massaging the side of his neck.

They both stood and grinned at each other ready to go again when Guy called a halt. All the clones in the clearing dispelled while Guy was clapping. "A most youthful spar you two." Naruto could tell Guy was in teaching mode now. He was all business. "Lee we will use this spar to focus on where you need improvement for the rest of the day. You are welcome to join us Naruto." Naruto waived him off. It was nearly sunset and he had preparations to make. Naruto turned to leave when Guy called him again.

"Naruto-san, you said you are using resistance seals?" Naruto nodded. "Do you by chance no any gravity seals?" With another nod Guy continued. "Why not use those?"

"Resistance seals are safer," he explained. "They offer resistance in any direction unlike gravity seals which just weigh you down. The only down side is that the resistance seals don't do anything while you're not moving unlike gravity seals." Guy and Lee nodded in agreement. "The reason why I said they're safer is that while gravity seals help muscles and bones become stronger, they can affect joints and tendons negatively. Weight seals are just too risky to me."

"I see, thank you for the spar Naruto-kun."

Naruto waved, "No problem Lee. See you Guy-san."

The orange horizon fading to a deep purple sky signaled all to the approaching night. Naruto stood by the gate in his orange jumpsuit and a pack slung over his shoulder. Four ANBU appearing in a body flicker surrounded the blond jinchuriki.

"Aww, you guys came to see me off? And I thought you didn't care," Naruto said sarcastically while wiping away tears that weren't there.

"Uzumaki-san, your presence is required at…"

"Requested," Naruto corrected quite serious.

"Requested," the ANBU stated, "at the hokage's office." Without any other word, the ANBU placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and body flickered away.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto greeted bowing deeply at the waist. _Crap, it's going to be one of those meetings, _Hiruzen Sarutobi thought. "Have you recovered my clan's assets?"

Hiruzen figured he better treat this like any other dignitary. "Uzumaki-san, I'm glad you could make time in your schedule to meet me. I would like to extend my apologies for my council's actions upon your clan and have done what I could to rectify the mistake. We have found the one's responsible and all have been removed from the council and imprisoned. We've recovered approximately seventy-five percent of the assets of the last known estimate that was on file. The rest were invested into various businesses owned by the former council members. I have decided it will be your choice to either sell the businesses or keep them for yourself."

"What were the last known totals of the clan accounts?"

"One hundred million ryo."

Naruto chuckled, "You really came through jiji (grandfather)." Hiruzen let out a sigh. As Naruto was about to continue, a ninja rushed through the open door behind Naruto and put a kunai to his throat.

Hiruzen was already standing with a kunai ready and the ANBU had surrounded the assailant, albeit at a distance. "The demon must not be allowed to hold Konoha captive. He has gained too much power." The sandaime knew that the ninja was throwing his life away. He also knew the ninja wasn't going out without finishing what he started. He could only watch in horror as the man drew the kunai across his surrogate grandson's throat. _Someone is going to pay for this. _His thoughts were brought short when the Naruto dispelled in a puff of smoke indicating that he was a clone. The combination of knowing his grandson was okay and the expression on the attempted murder's face had the sandaime laughing.

Naruto walked through the open door and stood before the crumpled form on the floor before him who had been taken out by the ANBU. "I am going to kill Danzo," Hiruzen growled. Naruto shook his head.

"Not a Root. Well, unless Danzo is letting one of them go without the silencing seal." Naruto turned the unconscious man's head. "He's got the same loyalty seal that Hinata Hyuga had. Not as rushed as Hinata's, but definitely the same person."

"Someone is expending a lot of effort to kill you Naruto; maybe you should rethink your trip."

"It's all the more reason to go jiji. I'll be okay. Now, to finish business, I'd like to keep the businesses but not list myself as the owner. How many businesses are we talking about?"

"Four. Two restaurants, a clothing store, and a weapons shop."

"Hmm, since ninjas are more likely to be open to me owning a business, have the weapons shop go in my clan account. If nothing else, I'll get free stock when I run low on weapons. Have the profits from one of the restaurants pay for a continuous mission to guard my businesses in case the public finds out I'm the owner. If the restaurant doesn't turn a profit after restock, then cancel the mission and bill whatever I owe to my account. The other two businesses are a gift to Konoha to put towards the needs of the village. I'm trusting you with this jiji, make sure the profits go to something useful, like ANBU or the academy."

Hiruzen couldn't get over the change in maturity in just the few short weeks. Here was Naruto giving away two businesses that were rightfully his for the good of the village. "Naruto, are you sure? I mean, after what has been done, you don't have to…"

He was cut off by Naruto's raised hand. "It's a re-contracting gift. Trust me, you lost more than you gained."

"What do you mean?"

"With my bloodline now, I can feel the barrier. I was already thinking of ways to improve it. For instance, imagine the barrier becoming solid during threat of invasion. The hokage would be able to lock down the whole village with no way in or out. No people, no summons and no jutsu. That is what the council cost the village because of their greed. "

The sandaime wanted to give the council over to Anko all over again. "So what next my boy?"

"Next, I dispel all the clones that were ready to take down the barrier."

"How many did you have in place?"

"Seven."

"That's not a lot, would you have been able to do it with so few?"

"Teen," Naruto continued.

"Oh, that might have…"

"Hundred," Naruto finished with a smirk.

"You're a clone too, aren't you?"

"That's why you're The Professor, jiji. Make sure you check under your crystal ball too." With that said, the clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Hiruzen shook his head and pulled the note from under his crystal ball that was resting on the shelf beside him. His eyes widened at what he read.

Anko was in a restaurant enjoying the dango that she thought was almost banned. She had just finished the best day she'd had in a long time. Getting to torture the council that had denied her promotion for so long was a godsend. She felt the presence behind her and threw the finished dango stick over her shoulder. The stick was used to move the collar of her trench coat aside exposing her curse mark. That pissed her off. Not a lot angered her more than people playing with that mark. She twirled around, kunai at the ready to kill the offender.

The object of her ire was the same that was responsible for her good day. An orange jumpsuit wearing blond brat stood in front of her with a kunai pressing into his throat.

"One year," he said confidently. She looked confused. He noticed he was getting that look more and more. "One year and that curse mark won't bother you anymore." Her eyes widened and in her shock she failed to react to the boy plunging himself on the kunai. She let out a strangled cry before smoke appeared in front of her.

She smiled, _Best day ever. _Her smile quickly turned into a frown, _I have to wait a whole year now? Damn it! _She turned back to her dango to find another Naruto finishing her last stick. He looked up at her and burped before he too dispelled. "You are so dead brat!"

Halfway between Konoha and Wave a man in brown robes walked along whistling. A hood was drawn over his head protecting him from the cool night air. The moonlight reflected off his cerulean blue eyes and the wisps of golden blond hair teased at the edges of the hood. His gait was slow but happy; almost seeming to be a skip as he moved to the light tune he whistled while a three prong kunai with markings on the hilt spun on his finger.


	7. Chapter 7

Memories from Yet to Come

**A/N- Just wanted to say that this wasn't my favorite chapter. I had two goals in mind that I believe I've accomplished with this chapter. First was some more character development, mainly Naruto. Second, I hate how I continue to read the wave arc in stories. So I decided to take care of it, in half a chapter. I just don't like rehashing the same arc over and over. The only arc I think I'll redo is the chunin exam arc, and that's only because I believe I have an original idea about it. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. The next few chapters (after this one) are the ones I'm most excited about.**

**I love Naruto fanfics – I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but his chakra levels are elite jounin levels at the moment. He's still having trouble just like his previous timeline because of the imbalance between his spiritual and physical chakras, but with his physical regime and chakra exercises, it won't be too long until it levels out. Thanks for pointing that out by the way, I should probably clarify that in the story soon.**

**Crashbreaka- I hear ya. Sometimes I skip entire pages looking for a good story because all I see is harem or yaoi. Granted, I have read some great harem fics that were excellently done, but it's just not my thing usually. Thanks for the review.**

**Hash4uall- Glad you're enjoying it. I didn't particularly care for the first part of the last chapter, but someone I had read it told me it was excellent. And seeing that he's a better writer than me, I wasn't going to ignore his feedback.**

**Geetac-What can I say? You always leave awesome reviews. Short, sweet and to the point. Glad you're enjoying it.**

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for Knighthood"**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

**Kyubi talking**

**_Kyubi thinking_**

Chapter 7

The smell of salty air stirred old memories in Naruto. His brown robes hung loosely off his frame and his hood was drawn over his head. He had left Konoha three days prior and set a comfortable pace. He was in no hurry to get any business done seeing as he had a little less than a year until his academy class graduated. His days were spent traveling and making conversation with any fellow travelers he happened across and his nights were spent camping and studying his father's flying thunder god kunai.

It was actually a brilliant piece of work. It took Naruto two full nights to understand how the technique actually worked. Despite being able to see the hidden seals, which were actually just layered instead of hidden with more fuinjutsu, he still hadn't figured it out until breaking all the seals apart. What his father managed to do was jump the chakra across different matrices in orders that shouldn't have been possible. While seals are designed to cycle chakra in specific patterns, his father forced his chakra in a different order; or to be more precise, in multiple patterns at the same time. The result was having the kunai pull the target half a second in the past when the seal was activated. The yellow light was actually a small tear in space. **A/N I don't know if this is actually how it works, but for the sake of this story, it is.** Naruto hadn't been able to find the correct order to the matrices yet but he had his clones working on it. Some of the explosions from the wrong orders were quite large.

The edge of town was marked with some simple farms and even simpler houses. There appeared to be some renovations started on some of the houses that never got finished and fell into disrepair. Naruto immediately knew why, Gato. Naruto wanted to believe there was good in everyone, but the short, fat tyrant seemed to thrive on other's misery. He wanted to give him a chance but deep down, he knew that only Gato's death would bring peace to wave. He just didn't know if it was going to be by his hand, or someone else's, again.

It was by the water's edge close to where the bridge was to be built that Naruto found the collection of villagers. He quickly made his way to a rooftop to get a better view. What he didn't expect was a man tied to a tall wooden post by his hands. The crying figures of Inari and Tsunami sealed Gato's fate. In his anger, Naruto began pulling Kurama's youki.

**"Brat, I don't know what's going on, but you're drawing too much of my power. You're about to go into a cloak state if you don't stop." **Kurama wouldn't admit it out loud but he had come to respect Naruto for his honesty and unwillingness to compromise his ideals. **_I can't believe I'm actually worried about this brat._**

Naruto forced himself to calm down so he could stop drawing on Kurama's chakra but his anger didn't leave him. In all his time as a ninja he had never murdered anyone. He had killed in battle, but never had he deliberately ended someone's life outside of battle. He was very close to doing just that.

Naruto took out a blank piece of paper and quickly sliced his thumb open. He touched his thumb to the paper and the blood spread out into a seal. He wrapped the paper around the hilt of a kunai and waited. He let out a quiet chuckle. _I remember a time when I would have jumped right in and started yelling. _

"Citizens of this pathetic little town. As you can see, I have your so called hero strung up by his hands about to die by my word. You all need to realize that I own this town and I have an army of mercenaries at my disposal. All of you and everything you own is ours!" The thugs behind Gato raised their swords and started cheering loudly. A rock struck Gato on his head. The cheering stopped and Gato looked around wildly.

"Leave my tou-san (father) alone!" Inari yelled passionately while reaching for another rock.

"Boss, should I…" one of the thugs asked gesturing with his sword.

"No, I want him to see his tou-san die. Make sure it's bloody." Gato gave the signal and one of the mercenaries raised his sword to strike. During the sword's descent a wooden 'thunk' was heard and a blue light erupted around Kaiza. The sword bounced off of the light harmlessly and Gato stumbled back to the protection of his thugs.

"Your pursuit of power and greed end here Gato." The voice came from all around them. Naruto wanted to laugh at how everyone was looking around for the owner of the voice. He made a mental note to thank Kakashi if he ever taught him the technique again. "You bring only misery and death with you everywhere you go." The tears in Inari's and Tsunami's eyes were now ones of hope. Naruto moved to a closer rooftop and stopped his voice projection technique. He also dropped the transformation that made him seem taller. "I will give you one chance to leave Wave and never come back." All eyes turned towards the direction of the voice.

The owner of said voice was no taller than a child and wore a brown robe. His face was hidden in the shadow of the hood and he stood with his arms folded across his chest. A breeze blew through at that moment flapping his robes in dramatic fashion. The leaves floating on the breeze all around him finished off the effect. _I must look soooo cool right now._

"A kid? Seriously? You are going to give ME a chance to leave this pathetic town? HA! Get him!" Fifty thugs carrying various weapons rushed the building Naruto was atop.

Now Naruto was smarter, wiser, and stronger than he used to be by leaps and bounds, but he was still Naruto. There was always going to be a part of him that had that mischievous streak. Naruto vanished in a body flicker. He appeared next to Gato and made sure there was plenty of smoke to cover his transformation. When the smoke cleared there were two Gatos. They both looked at each other surprised.

"Get him you idiots, he's a fake!"

"No! He's the fake! Get him."

"Whoever brings me his head will get triple." Many of the thugs were looking at the other Gato greedily upon hearing this.

"Does that sound like something I'd say? Triple? Whoever doesn't get him won't get paid." That sealed the deal for the mercenaries. They'd all heard stories about Gato not paying for unfinished jobs. They all rushed the other Gato. "Don't kill him; we might be able to ransom him." A few moments later found a tied up Gato at the feet of a smirking Gato. "Good job." The standing Gato was immersed in smoke and the child wearing the brown robe was in his place.

Although Naruto could do the shadow clone wordlessly now, he felt a bit of theatrics were in order. He crossed his fingers into the familiar shape and shouted, "Shadow clone technique!" One hundred and fifty clones appeared around the mercenaries. _Damn chakra control, I was only going for fifty. _Seeing the looks of awe on the villagers' faces he figured it was worth it.

It was short work for the clones to take down the thugs. They were all beside Gato sporting multiple broken bones and tied up. Naruto even paid for the rope from one of the local shops although they tried to make him take it for free.

None of the villagers had spoken. The blue light surrounding Kaiza had faded away and Naruto cut him down. Kaiza was instantly wrapped in a hug by his wife and son. "How can we ever thank you?" Naruto recognized Tazuna stepping forward.

"I was just passing through, and decided to help. If you really want to do something, you might want to think about trade routes with Konoha."

"It's difficult for trade because everyone has to us boats to get here though."

Naruto stroked his chin, "Hmm, that his a problem."

"I am a master bridge builder though, and a bridge would help commerce in Wave."

"Wait, you're Tazuna?" Naruto asked with wide eyes knowing exactly who he was.

"You've heard of me?" Tazuna was shocked upon hearing this but proud of his growing reputation.

"Yeah," Naruto exclaimed loudly. "You're the old drunk guy that always talks about being a master bridge builder." Many of the villagers listening in laughed loudly knowing how close to the truth he was.

Tazuna's scowl only lasted for a moment before he laughed with everyone else. "Tell me your name brat and I'll name the bridge after you."

"You should name it after Inari." Everyone looked at the small boy who still clung to his father. "If he didn't have the courage to stand up to Gato, then I might not have acted."

"Why?" came the question from one of the villagers.

Naruto sighed. "If you won't stand up for what you believe in, then why would anyone else? Inari's the real hero today."

Tazuna nodded his head. He was proud of his grandson. No one was willing to help his daughter's husband and he nearly died. "What do we do about them?" he pointed to the prisoners.

Naruto honestly hadn't gotten that far. He refused to kill them in cold blood. That's when an idea popped in his head. "Get in touch with the hokage and tell him what's been happening here. Tell him you want a mission to take prisoners off your hands and as payment they can have a percentage of Gato's business."

"Will they do that?"

"Yup. Prisoners are expensive though so they'll probably ask for a big chunk of the business. If it looks like he's not going to do it, tell him you were sent by…the great invader." Tazuna looked perplexed, "It's a code name." Tazuna gained a look of understanding. "Well, I got things to see and people to do…that didn't come out like I wanted. By the way, which way is the ruins of Whirlpool village."

"There are some ruins on an island to the north. Don't know if that's the same place you're looking for though." Naruto thanked the old man and waved to the rest of the villagers before walking off. "Hey brat, that's south." Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his hooded head and started walking the opposite direction.

A quiet but familiar voice stopped him. "H-how did you know my name?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder as the wind picked up blowing his hood off of his head. The blond hair, blue eyes, and infectious smile would be ingrained in Inari's mind forever. "Didn't you know Inari? Everyone knows the hero's name." To Inari, it looked like the blond boy vanished and ghost images of his parents took his place. The sun peeked out from behind the cloud bathing the villagers in a light that felt like the first of spring after a very long winter.

_Konoha – A week after Naruto's departure_

The party was still raging in the streets. It had started shortly after Naruto left. The demon brat was gone and Konoha was safe. There were piñatas strung up dressed in orange jumpsuits. The hokage was beyond pissed off. He had to hand it to the civilians for finding a way around his law though. While they still couldn't talk about Naruto being a jinchuriki, there was nothing saying they couldn't beat a piñata with the likeness of him.

"It's a shame," Hiruzen said to the ANBU flanking him.

"Hai, hokage-sama," the ANBU replied dutifully.

"Did you know that Naruto-kun gave two businesses he owned to the village and asked that the proceeds go to the academy and ANBU?"

The ANBU gave away no indication of surprise. "No, I did not hokage-sama."

"Are you aware of the economy of the neighboring towns and villages Seal?"

Seal had no idea where the conversation was going but answered promptly. "The few towns I've seen recently have sufficient resources, although they do not thrive as we do."

The old man seemed to think for a moment. "Maybe our ninja should start shopping at the surrounding towns…to help with their economies of course."

Seal's smile was hidden behind his ANBU mask. "Of course hokage-sama."

"I think I will get some ramen from Ichiraku's though."

"I feel like some ramen as well hokage-sama," Hiruzen shot him a look. "After my shift of course." Hiruzen nodded.

Ichirakus ran out of ramen for a week straight. It seemed like every ninja in the village suddenly developed a taste for their food. It was quite common to see many prominent members from the Akimichi, Hyuga, and Nara clans sitting at the small stand. Teuchi knew that Naruto somehow had a hand in his store's success.

Some civilian business owners started noticing a decline in profits. Many of them contributed it to the ongoing celebration and assumed it would pick back up in due course. When the daimyo arrived with his entourage which included his family, a host of soldiers, and six of the twelve guardian ninja, they were assured that their futures were secure.

The young daimyo waved to the cheering crowd. He had no idea what they were celebrating, but a celebration could only mean good things. The procession stopped in front of the hokage's tower and the daimyo entered followed by his family and his guards.

"Asuma!" The daimyo shouted happily.

"Daimyo-sama," Asuma replied bowing deeply.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

"Sorry squirt, but the title comes with the job." The fact that the daimyo was the same height as Asuma wasn't lost on anyone. "So, how's your uncle doing?"

"He's still gravely ill. We hoped without the stress of being Daimyo that he would have gotten better. The medics believe it's only a matter of time now." Asuma was saddened by the news. He had come to love and respect the former daimyo as it he were family. The daimyo switched topics to lighten the mood. "I don't like the beard though."

"Ah, but the ladies love the beard."

"Daddy, I want a beard," a young boy of five exclaimed.

"No." His mother denied him quite firmly. She glared at Asuma who shrunk back.

"Well, let me go get this meeting over with. I hope to see you later Asuma."

"Of course daimyo-sama," Asuma bowed low again.

Hiruzen was down the hall waiting to escort the daimyo to the council room where all the members had been gathered. As soon as the daimyo was spotted nearing the village, messengers were sent to gather all the members.

"Daimyo-dono."

"Hokage-dono."

"Do you think that meets all the constraints of formality?"

"It should do kyofu (godfather). How have you been?" The daimyo asked as the walked to the meeting room.

"I'm ready to pass this hat on, but I still haven't found a worthy candidate." _One that's old enough anyway._

"Don't take too long, I don't want you ending up like my uncle."

"I'm sorry to hear about that. How's he doing?"

"It's not good. The medics don't give him long." He replied sadly.

"I can send one of my medic-nin to look at him if you want."

"I don't think it will help. They say they've never seen an infection like this. It's destroying his lungs." Hiruzen smiled hearing this. The daimyo knew that his kyofu wasn't cruel so he wondered what he was missing.

"You need to talk to the chief of medicine at Konoha hospital. There's recently been a breakthrough in the area of illness related to lungs. It's all completely foreign to me but I do know it's cured one of my ninjas already." Hope welled up in the daimyo and his family.

They arrived at the council room and the daimyo's wife and son waited outside with a guard while the daimyo and Hiruzen entered. The civilians present looked fairly well despite being tortured a week ago. They also looked smug believing they had finally driven the demon from the village. They, of course, took full credit for it when it was leaked to the public.

"Daimyo-sama, you honor us with your presence." The civilian member who spoke was thin, had a large beard, and wore a foppish hat. He looked ridiculous to the daimyo. He knew that this man would grate on his nerves.

"Thank you. I love visiting Konoha. My trips here as a boy left fond memories. If I may ask, what was the celebration about? I know of no holidays around this time."

"We did it!" one of the female civilian members cheered. "We finally drove the demon away." His confused look prompted her to continue explaining. She didn't notice that none of the shinobi bothered to interrupt her. "The demon brat is gone."

The daimyo turned to the old hokage. His face was instantly stony. "Your jinchuriki is gone?" He got a nod in answer "Hiruzen, explain!" he commanded.

"Panzo," Hiruzen started, trying to calm the angry daimyo, "I couldn't keep him here. Not without force anyway. He wasn't a ninja and he didn't have a guardian. To be honest, his life has been hell. He's attacked, beaten, overcharged, or not allowed to buy even basic food. I've done what I could to help him, but some of my ninja turn a blind eye and I can't watch him all the time."

"You're the leader! You know how important he is. At least tell me he's coming back." Hiruzen nodded again. The council was completely puzzled by the conversation. Both sides were thinking that the daimyo meant to turn him into a weapon.

"Panzo-san, do you think we can trust the demon?" A knife point was held an inch from his eye.

"That's daimyo-sama," the guard corrected. The civilian responded by wetting himself.

"They don't know anything, do they?" Panzo asked Hiruzen.

"No, and while it's your choice I don't think you should tell them everything. The enemies he'll eventually have will be bad enough. No need to release them all upon him now." Panzo nodded in agreement.

"I will tell them of his mother's side however. The demon-brat as you call him is called a jinchuriki. The yondaime sealed the kyubi into the boy when he was no more than an hour old. That boy…"

"Is a demon! He killed the yondaime and brainwashed the hokage!"

Panzo looked at his guard, "If she interrupts me again, kill her." The council collectively gulped. "As I was saying," he pointedly looked at the female council member with the guard standing behind her. "The boy's name is Naruto Uzumaki. He comes from a line of Uzumakis that have kept the kyubi locked up since the first hokage battled Madara. Now a lot of you may already know this.

"What you don't know is that Whirlpool country didn't have a daimyo. Their kage ruled as a king. Their king only had one child, Kushina Uzumaki." The shinobi council smirked and the civilian side paled. "Her only son is Naruto Uzumaki, prince and sole ruler of Whirlpool country." No one dared speak not knowing if he was finished speaking.

"Not only have you made an innocent child's life hell, which would be enough to get you all killed, you've done it to a prince no less. Fix this. Make sure that the young Uzumaki wants to return and feels welcome or I will burn this village down and rebuild a new one."

"You can't do that!" A kunai was promptly shoved through the former council member's temple. A fat man beside her clutched his chest and began shaking as his eyes rolled up and out of view. His shaking lasted for a few seconds before he slumped into his chair obviously dead.

Hiruzen looked like he wanted to hug Panzo for getting rid of not one council member, but two.

"I was actually done talking, so she didn't technically interrupt, but…" Panzo shrugged his shoulders. "And for her last comment, I own this land. If I feel like turning Konoha into a water park, I will. You certainly have strong ninja, but I have twenty times the amount of forces you do." He turned to the hokage who had a slight smile on his face. "Hiruzen, we'll finish this conversation in your office. You're going to tell me exactly how prince Uzumaki was able to get beaten under your supposed care." Hiruzen winced. _This is turning out to be a bad day. I need to retire._

**A/N – Just to clear something up for future chapters, Naruto will be treated slightly better than before. It won't go to his head though. He will NOT be an emo brat taking everything for granted. **

**I also want everyone to know that he will still be getting his ass whipped every once in a while. He's not god-like. **

**On a related note, I do have a Naruto god-like fic in mind I will be putting down eventually. I won't be starting that one until this one is finished however. I've seen too many good stories get abandoned because the author chose to start something else with promises to finish.**

**Again, thanks for reading and reviewing. **


	8. Chapter 8

Memories from Yet to Come

**A/N – This is by far one of my favorite chapters so far. There's a lot of things going on in this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it. Thank you to all who have reviewed, faved, and followed. Seeing those is what drives me. **

**Geetac – glad you're enjoying it buddy.**

**Strife666 – Thanks for the read and review, hope you'll like this one just as much.**

**Ribellion – You bring up one of the main points of the story. While he does have the memories of a 19 year old, everything else about him is still 11. He's stronger, smarter, and more mature, but he's still experiencing the feelings of everything new. Besides, to Naruto, killing those thugs wouldn't have been more than murder in his eyes. But you are correct on one point; he's still not morally mature enough to go killing someone even if it would be for the best. He wants to believe that everyone can change, because he wants to show all the people who doubted him that he changed. He may be living in a fantasy, but it's still his decision until someone forces his hand. Thanks for the review.**

**Cobra0000 – I wanted a drastic change for Naruto so he didn't have a lot of time to cope with them. If he gradually grew into the changes, it might have been too late before everything spiraled out of control. I wanted him to affect the world around him, while giving him the struggle with his identity. Thanks for the review and hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for Knighthood"**

"Talking"

_Thinking_

**Kyubi talking**

**_Kyubi thinking_**

Chapter 8

_Konoha – 2 weeks after Naruto's departure_

The celebration ended shortly after the daimyo's arrival. The deaths of two civilian council members were spread around the village quickly. Not surprisingly, the tragedies were blamed on Naruto. The "demon-brat" had influenced even the daimyo it seemed. It seemed his status as a prince only had one logical path to take; prince of demons. The hokage shook his head sadly upon hearing the rumors. The daimyo was pissed however. He was angry at both the villagers and Hiruzen's reaction. He felt that a leader needed to be kind and peaceful when necessary, but firm and unyielding in the same respect. The daimyo gave one last warning to the council regarding Naruto's status. He promised complete annihilation if they didn't fix the problem.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office smoking his pipe. He had three shadow clones at the desk doing paperwork. Normally he would be reading his pupil's latest book. He was to far lost in his thoughts to get anything out of it though. His thoughts revolved around his failures. How he had failed, Naruto, Minato and Kushina.

Jinchuriki. The power of human sacrifice. One word that meant so much. Minato and Kushina had to sacrifice their lives to save the village. Naruto had to sacrifice his childhood, his happiness, and his parents. And Hiruzen couldn't even get around the damned council. A feeling welled up in his chest. It was something he hadn't felt in many years. Determination.

_I'll never be done apologizing for what I've let happen to you Naruto, but I'm done saying sorry and not doing anything about it. Perhaps it's time I took up your nindo (ninja way). I give my word that I will change this village for the better until my successor takes over._

"ANBU!" An ANBU appeared at his side, "I want all the jonin and chunin at training ground two in three hours." The ANBU bowed and body flickered away. Hiruzen reached to the shelf beside him and grabbed his ever present crystal ball.

_Flashback_

_ The Sandaime hokage had just finished an incredibly long day in council before watching the center of the current crisis almost get assassinated in his office. He grabbed the note under his crystal ball and his eyes widened as he read it. _

_Dear Jiji,_

_Hope you didn't think I was going to leave without giving you your present. Don't worry, there's no prank involved. Just wanted to tell you that I added a few seals to your crystal ball. One is a voice seal that's linked to your voice only. I'll tell you about the other seal before I get into the voice seal._

_The second seal I added is something I call a memory link seal. What it does is let whoever is holding the crystal to see a memory. The fresher the memory, the clearer the image. The image will play out just as the person remembers it. (It might be helpful in interrogations). To switch between, just say 'Memory link' or 'Peeping'. Ha Ha Ha. Okay, maybe you can count that as a prank. _

_Well, that's all for now jiji. See you in a year._

_N. U. _

_P.S. I borrowed (stole, claimed)my fathers thundergod kunai_

_P.P.S. Say 'Henge' right now_

_The hokage said "Henge." The note in his hand transformed into Naruto who was squatting on his desk. "Naruto?"_

_"Hey jiji," Naruto said happily. _

_"How did you do that?"_

_"When the teachers taught me the henge, they taught me wrong. I copied some of the other kids and I came up with this. It's a real transformation. I was your hat for a whole day once."_

_The hokage's eyes widened in surprise. He knew the day Naruto was talking about. He thought his office smelled rank the entire day. He didn't have to say anything as Naruto verified for him._

_"I had some bad gas that day too. I think it was the chili I umm, borrowed, from the Akimichi's the night before." The hidden ANBU fell out of his hidden corner clutching his stomach. He wasn't even trying to stifle his laughs. _

_The hokage frowned. He really couldn't do anything about Naruto at the moment, but he made a mental note to make sure the ANBU got the Tora mission for a few months. "So, what else Naruto?" Hiruzen was not happy learning that Naruto had actually farted on his head. _

_"Just wanted to give you a proper goodbye." Hiruzen smiled warmly at the boy that had almost given him more heart attacks than anyone else in his life. Then he inhaled sharply. Naruto's "proper goodbyes" were only proper to him. Before he could say anything Naruto's mouth turned up at on corner. "Splat," was the last thing he heard before the Naruto in front of him exploded into bright pink paint. _

_"NAAAAARRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOO!" was heard across the village._

_End flashback_

Iruka watched the students file into the classroom for the first day of their last year in the academy. Sasuke sat in the middle row and most of the other students gravitated around him. Although Sasuke was known to brood, he still managed to position himself to be the center of attention. He would claim to want to be left alone and then humiliate or beat any person who tried to take his spotlight.

Clan heirs littered the room. Iruka was saddened to not see Naruto though. He wanted Naruto to succeed in his dream, to become a ninja and eventually hokage. To help him, he tried to give Naruto what he wanted the most, a friend. The chattering in the room was mostly drowned out by Sakura and Ino arguing about who Sasuke liked the most. Surprisingly Hinata's voice was heard among the chatter as well. She was talking with Kiba and Shino and Iruka was glad to see that she was coming out of her shell more.

Iruka decided to get the new year started. "Alright class, pay attention." The chattering students seemed to get louder. "Pay attention class," he said louder. He noticed a few look forward before going back to talking. He broke out his Big Head Technique. "QUIET DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION!" The students immediately faced forward and were quiet. Iruka couldn't believe these kids were going to be ninja in a few months.

"Iruka-sensei? Where's Naruto-baka?" Iruka didn't miss the glare directed at Sakura from Hinata.

"Naruto le…" Iruka began before he was interrupted.

"He probably got tired of being the dead last and quit," Sasuke smugly proclaimed. The Sasuke fan club laughed in agreement.

"He's not the idiot everyone thinks he is," Shikamaru stated. Iruka was surprised he wasn't asleep yet. He did look bored, but he didn't appear to be tired in the least.

"Go back to sleep Nara," Sasuke commanded,"Naruto's a no name loser and always will be."

"Oi, Uchiha! Talk about my Nii-san (big brother) again, and I'll juken your balls into paste. Got it?" Everyone's jaw hit the floor. Sasuke was no stranger to threats. He got them on a daily basis from Naruto; but not the Hyuga girl. This was the same shy, white-eyed girl who would faint if Naruto would even glance her way. Sasuke was so shocked he could do nothing but nod. Unknown to everyone else, Sasuke's heart started to beat faster. He wasn't sure if it was from fear, or something else. Hinata shot a glare at Sakura and Ino daring them to say anything. She smirked when they didn't and leaned back in her seat.

Iruka cleared his throat drawing everyone's attention. "Yes, well, umm, Naruto left the village for a while. He came by before he left to say goodbye." Sasuke didn't even think about making a comment. He was torn between wanting to look back at the Hyuga girl, and his "I hate everything" image.

Unfortunately Kiba didn't take Hinata's earlier threat serious enough. "He probably knew he would fail again." The look Hinata shot Kiba promised untold amounts of pain.

Iruka heaved a sigh. "Do you want to hear what happened? Or should we go straight into the lecture today?" Everyone's silence prompted Iruka to continue.

_Flashback –Day of Naruto's departure (I know, please don't hate me.)_

_Iruka and Mizuki were in the middle of the ninjutsu portion of the genin exams for the graduating class. A knock on the door drew their attention from Neji Hyuga who had just been called to the front. Naruto stood outside the class room waiting to be waved in. Mizuki didn't notice any difference because of his hate for the boy, but Iruka immediately noticed a calmer and more somber Naruto. _

_"Naruto? We're in the middle of the genin exams, is everything okay?" Iruka asked with genuine concern._

_"I'm sorry sensei, but this couldn't wait. I'm leaving the village today and I wanted to say goodbye."Mizuki was seething, he didn't want the demon to leave, he wanted him to die._

_"Naruto, you're too young to leave the village, you could get hurt, or worse," Iruka stated with genuine concern. Naruto smiled, that's why Iruka would always be one of his precious people. _

_"Sorry sensei, this is something I have to do, but don't worry, I'll be back in time for my graduation." Iruka was still worried, he wanted to alert the hokage, but he couldn't leave in the middle of class. This was his job after all. _

_"Naruto-kun, your flames of youth are burning so brightly my youthful friend!" Lee gave him his patented smile and thumbs up. _

_"Thanks Lee, it's good to see you too. Good luck in your exam." Naruto turned back to Iruka. "Anyway, I just wanted to say tha…"_

_"Can we hurry this up?" Neji interrupted. "Fate has decreed that I become a genin today." Naruto looked at him as if he were crazy._

_"Fate?" Naruto remembered Neji before the chunin exams and hoped the change in the Hyuga clan would help him. Apparently that stick was still stuck up there pretty far._

_"Forget it. A loser like you would never understand."_

_"Really?" Just then the hokage flanked by two ANBU appeared in a cloud of smoke. _

_"Neji Hyuga," the hokage roared, "Who are you to interrupt a meeting with one of my ninja?" Everyone in the room was stunned. The famous stoic Hyuga demeanor was shot to hell in the presence of the hokage. "And with someone I consider a grandson no less? You will stand at the front of the class and perform the academy taijutsu forms until their conversation is finished." Neji shakily nodded his head. As he began performing the taijutsu stance, the hokage nodded to Naruto. "I apologize for the interruption Iruka and Naruto, please finish your conversation."_

_"It's no problem jiji. He has girly hair, so I guess he just gets mad sometimes. I would too if I had girly hair." Neji didn't even spare a glance at Naruto._

_"You're right Naruto, he does have girly hair." Neji stopped in mid form and stared open mouthed at the hokage. Naruto couldn't hold it in anymore and grabbed his sides because he was laughing so hard. The hokage and the ANBU also started laughing and were covered in smoke before transforming into Naruto. _

_Naruto didn't think he'd ever seen anyone so red before. Neji let out a strangled battle cry before launching himself at Naruto. Naruto grabbed the closest thing to him which was an eraser and threw it at Neji's head. Neji didn't even slow down and just tilted his head to the side letting the eraser sail out the open window behind him. Neji was going for a kill shot and they both knew it. A look of horror came over Naruto's face when the eraser didn't even distract Neji. _

_The livid branch member thrust his hand forward fully intending to stop the blond haired troublemaker's heart. A slight smirk adorned Naruto's face before he did a kawarimi (body replacement technique) with the eraser outside the window. Neji's juken strike obliterated the eraser covering him in chalk dust. His angry red face was somehow still visible through the white chalk dust covering him. _

_Iruka rushed to the window worried about the fact that they were three stories up. He saw Naruto rushing towards the ground and was about to shunshin down when he saw Naruto give a single wave and disperse with a loud pop. _

_Flashback end_

"Although I don't condone the method he used," Iruka stated to the class after telling his story, "It was the greatest display of the academy three I've ever seen in this classroom. Technically, he already passed the ninjutsu portion of the exam." The class broke out into gossiping whispers.

"Iruka-sensei?" One of the academy students from the civilian side raised her hand. "What three jutsus are needed for the genin exam?"

"Well, since you'll be taking the test this year, you'll need to be able to make three bunshins (clones), do a kawarimi (body replacement) and henge (transformation). Any other questions?" Iruka was glad he had gotten their attention for something related to learning. That went out the window when they began whispering again which increased to needing the Big Head Jutsu again. Iruka sighed thinking it was going to be a long year again.

Since learning how different his transformation was from everyone else's, he had always wanted to try something. He wanted to fly, until he took off and promptly broke his beak/nose. After that he figured it was safer to let his clones take the damaged for him. His clones mumbled under their breath about unfair work conditions but dutifully went about transforming and crashing. They kept altering different parts of the bird body until they got the right combination and a dozen bright yellow and orange birds soared in the skies.

"Hey," one of the clones said upon releasing his transformation, "where do our clothes go when we transform?"

Another clone shrugged. "Iunno. What are we gonna call this anyway? We can't just keep calling it henge."

"Super awesome Uzumaki Transformation Technique," the first clone shouted while thrusting his fist in the air.

"How about…Shinhenge (true transformation)," the real Naruto decided. **A/N – I don't know if this is correct, but this was the closest I could find through my research that wasn't actual kanji characters.**

Naruto landed on Whirlpool Island and sent his clones to scout the island. One of his clones found the ruins and dispelled giving Naruto the location. Naruto transformed from the bird, which he was finding very handy of late, to gaze upon mountainous piles of rubble and fallen buildings. A river ran through the center of the village and pylons stuck up from the water indicating what might have been bridges that were once present. Most of the collapsed buildings looked to be at least as tall as the hokage tower. Naruto was once told that Uzushio was destroyed because they were feared for their fuinjutsu. He now wondered if it was because of jealousy.

_There's nothing to do about it now. Holding on to grudges won't get me anywhere. _He made his way to the Uzukage's building which was mostly crumbled. The collapsed wall forced him to find a window to crawl through. After some twists and turns through corridors and backtracking because of cave ins, he made his way to a large hall untouched by any damage. Pillars adorned the room and the walls were without decorations and a large spiral was inlaid on the marble floor.

Naruto felt the presence of a seal in the room but he couldn't see it, which was unusual because of his bloodline limit. As his foot came in contact with the spiral, knowledge of the seal used rushed through his mind.

"Oh, that is so brilliant," he said out loud to no one. Naruto laid his hands down in the center of the spiral. Lines shot out from different points of the spiral to connect to the pillars littering the room. Lines connected from some of those pillars to connect to others which then connected back to the spiral or stopped all together. The seal was set up so that only and Uzumaki with the bloodline would know it was there and how to activate. Once the seal was finished, the lines glowed a bright white before the spiral collapsed downward, turning into a staircase. "This is so cool." Naruto reiterated.

At the bottom of the stairs was a large vault door with so many seal matrices on it Naruto wouldn't even know where to begin unraveling them. So he decided to let his bloodline do the work for him. He closed his eyes and reached out and touched the vault. The seals unraveled and traveled up his hand snaking its way along his body. As they reformed on his body he knew what they were. Various detection seals, blood seals, barrier seals, and death seals reformed along his skin. The detection and blood seals disappeared after a moment, the barrier seals and death seals remained.

He figured if the detection and blood seals didn't verify his lineage, then the death seal would have activated. He also knew that attempting to remove the death seal would activate it and kill him immediately. The only one he wasn't sure about was the barrier seal. He had no idea how it came into play. And he still didn't have a clue how to get in the vault.

He reached a tentative hand out to grab the handle and found it phase through it. _A genjutsu?_ He held up the ram sign and pumped as much chakra as he dared to, being careful to not inadvertently overload the death seal, and said, "Kai (dispel, unravel)."

Naruto seemed confused until he got a look of understanding. "Nu uh," he said admiringly. He reached his hand out and walked through the door. Without the barrier seals on his body, he would have walked straight into the vault door. "I know I keep saying it, but this is so freakin cool."

"Hello Uzumaki-san," an intangible voice spoke.

"Who are y-you?" Naruto hesitantly asked being scared of ghosts.

"I am what is left of the wife of the last Uzukage. You may call me Emi." The voice was melodic, almost as if it were sung.

"Are you a ghost?" The last thing Naruto wanted to do was upset a ghost, especially one that's an Uzumaki. The laughter that followed was full and rich. Naruto was also able to pinpoint it now as it came from directly behind him. He turned around and found a red haired woman with soft peach skin. She wore a peach and white kimono decorated with flowers. The flowers seemed to swirl and move with every move of the kimono. The most striking features were her green eyes and beautifully serene smile.

"When the invasion of our home started, my husband tasked me with a mission. I was to seal part of my chakra and soul into the vault to guide the next Uzumaki to open it." Naruto thought about how his parents did the same thing. His shoulders sagged in relief.

"So are you my…Baa-san (grandmother)?"

She tapped her finger against her chin and looked thoughtful for a moment, "I don't know, I only had one daughter and she went on a mission of her own when she was younger. It's kind of secret, but since you're the only Uzumaki to make it here, I guess I can at least tell you her name. It was Kushina." **A/N – like no one saw that coming, huh?**

Naruto's eyes widened. It wasn't fair. He always meets his family just to lose them minutes later. Tears sprang to his eyes.

"What's wrong young one?" Naruto sniffled trying to stem the flow of his tears.

"Kushina was my kaa-san (mother). Her and my tou-san (father) died protecting me on the day of my birth. I've had no family and only know them because they did the same thing when they sealed the Kyubi into me." He wiped his eyes on his sleeve.

"And now the same thing is going to happen with your baa-chan." He nodded his head. She held out her arms to him. He rushed into them and buried his face into her shoulder.

"Wait," he said after a few minutes, "if you're just chakra and a piece of soul, how am I touching you?"

She smiled that gentle, peaceful smile that put him at complete ease. "The universe is a big place and sometimes, very rarely, impossible things happen. This is one of those things." **A/N – I do not own Doctor Who.** "I also happen to be the best seal master Uzushio had, and with the kyubi sealed in you, we should be able to get me to stay a little longer." Naruto's smile lit up the vault.

Naruto ended up staying for a month. With his chakra powering the seal her soul was sealed into, she would last as long as Naruto stayed in the vault. They managed to make it work. When Naruto had to leave for food or other necessities, he would leave a clone to continue powering the seal. In the month he spent there, he learned a lot about his clan, his family, and heritage. He also learned more about his bloodline. The fact that he could create a seal on the air had never crossed his mind.

He told Emi about his childhood in Konoha which elicited a typical Uzumaki response, a lot of anger, shouting and swearing. All in all it made Naruto happy. He finally reached one of his dreams, to experience what it was like to have a family.

It was also in the vault that Naruto attempted to alter the seal. With no one around for miles, there was less of a chance for anyone getting hurt in case something went wrong. The key worked perfectly. He opened the seal a little which allowed a slightly larger amount of Kurama's chakra through. It also let Kurama see and hear everything Naruto did which was the intended result. The only downsides that Naruto found were that his improving chakra control was shot to hell, and he now had a ten thousand year old demon commenting on everything around him.

When he finally decided it was time to leave, emotions from both of them ran high. It was after much hugging and promises made that Emi told him she wanted one last thing. "I want you to take what you want from the vault. The family fortune is yours by right and it's doing no good down here. The family techniques are yours as well." Naruto sealed everything into two scrolls. He sealed his family techniques into a master scroll that was sealed with a blood seal and a chakra seal. The fortune of jewels, chakra metals, and gold were sealed into another scroll. This had a transference seal that let Naruto allow someone else to open said scroll.

Naruto left Whirlpool Country feeling lighter of spirit. He was separating himself from his other timeline's life. That had been a major contention with him since this whole thing started. He'd always been by himself, making his own path. He'd scraped and fought for the few precious people he now had, but at the end of the day, in his messy, vandalized apartment, it was always just Naruto Uzumaki. Then another Naruto comes along and tells him they're the same, gives him memories he doesn't know, and then has the audacity to merge with him? It was too much. He had never killed anyone, although he had the memory of doing it before. He hadn't met his kaa-san and tou-san after they died, but he remembers it as if it were yesterday. He hadn't saved a princess, or seen a comrade die, or fought a supposed god, but he remembers each of those things and knows that they're absolutely true.

But all that was moot now. He had no memories of Emi-baasan in the other timeline. Emi's words played back in his mind when he expressed his issues with separating his life from his former timeline's life. _We are everything that makes us. Your feelings, memories and everything else about you all add up to one thing, Naruto Uzumaki. If you take one thing away, you're not who you once were. Think about this, if you were to learn about poisoning as part of being a ninja, would you be the same Naruto you were? Of course not. You've changed, whether it's for better or worse, you're now a new Naruto. Just as if you were to try onigiri and find you like it as much as ramen. _The conversation after that devolved into a multiple hours long dissertation on the awesomeness of ramen.

This experience had changed him though. He was at peace with himself. His baa-san had helped him see that he didn't need to contend with a memory, or memories as the case may be. Besides, it was those memories that let him make his way to Uzushio and eventually meet his baa-san.

It was in Lightning Country that Naruto ran into his first big problem. He was wandering towards a small town to resupply when he saw a man with a sword fighting someone in black robes with red clouds.

_Shit, I can't fight Akatsuki yet, _he thought. He knew if he didn't though, that man would die. Naruto took off around a house to hopefully flank the Zombie Brothers and get some kind of advantage. He failed to notice the large wolf with silver fur beside the tree or the snowy owl perched on the branch of the same tree.

"Come on Kakuzu, stop playing with the guy so I can sacrifice someone to Jashin," Hidan whined.

"You could already be doing that while I take care of this. I hate waiting for that stupid ritual," Kakuzu sniped back.

"Fuck you Kakuzu! At least I have a god to pray to instead of that bullshit money you're so obsessed with."

"I really wish I could kill you. Just go do whatever and let me get my bounty." Naruto waited until Hidan left before he created four shadow clones. He wanted to take all five hearts at once and this would be his best chance. With a silent command, all five rushed Kakuzu's back. The four clones poofed into oblivion and the original was strung up by a black wire coming from under Kakuzu's robe.

"That was way too slow for anything against me kid." Kakuzu brought Naruto into his view but kept him out of reach much to Naruto's dismay. "So, what's the deal? You apparently have ninja training if you can create solid clones." Naruto just smirked and thrust his hands in front of him. A blinding light shot from the seal right into Kakuzu's eyes, but before Naruto could do anything, the wires holding him up slammed him into the ground.

Naruto saw stars and felt as if his face was broken. Kakazu was still rubbing his eyes as the wire lifted Naruto up to slam him once again. The wire was cut by the swordsman whose fight Naruto interrupted. Naruto took a moment to regain his bearings and with a nod to the swordsman, they both rushed the still blinded Akatsuki member.

Naruto and the unnamed swordsman worked well together. Naruto would cover his temporary teammate's back while the swordsman attacked and vice versa. It was when Naruto launched a Great Breakthrough Technique that the swordsman followed right behind when they knew they were outclassed. One of the masks connected to Kakuzu launched a fireball at the wind technique causing a huge explosion blowing the swordsman clear. Naruto rushed to his side keeping a wary eye on the Akatsuki member.

Naruto couldn't believe what was happening. He knew he was better than he was. His skills were light years away from what they were in the academy the year before. And yet, one blinded member from Akatsuki was beating not only him, but a swordsman as well like they were toddlers. He saw just how far he had to go.

**"You're getting your ass kicked," **Kurama stated calmly.

"Yeah, thanks for the play by play."

**"You want to borrow some chakra?"**

Naruto chuckled despite the situation, "Do you really think it will help? He's kicking our ass by himself while blinded." It was at that moment that Naruto got a cut on his cheek from a three bladed scythe. His quick reaction was the only thing that saved his head.

"What the fuck, I leave for five minutes and some little brat comes in and starts kicking your ass?"

"Just kill him already. I'm annoyed enough as it is." Hidan shrugged and licked Naruto's blood off of his scythe. Hidan's face turned white while his body turned black with white lines all over it. Naruto paled. He had heard about this ability. He stood in abject horror as Hidan finished drawing the lines for his ritual.

"I usually play with the victims a little, but leader-sama has been impatient lately. See you in hell brat." Naruto watched the slow descent of the spear towards Hidan's chest. This was it, he was going to die.

"Stop!" A feminine voice commanded. An amazingly beautiful woman in a blue dress walked forward. She had lustrous black hair with a single while lock and steely gray eyes. Kakuzu was about to comment on Hidan's lack of movement when he too found he couldn't move. Her gaze briefly fell on Naruto before returning to Hidan. "I've seen symbols similar to that, and it never ends well. You would do well to stop while your soul is still intact."

"Fu-ck y-you b-bitch!" Hidan managed to croak out. An old man with a short gray beard chuckled softly. He wore an old, dirty set of tunic and hose and had mismatched shoes. In short, he looked like a vagabond that would scrounge for any loose ryo available for a drink.

"You might want to watch what you say. Polgara doesn't like to be called that. Well at least not by anyone but Beldin."

"Not now father, go chase a rabbit or something."

"**Aww, I wanna chase rabbits…"**Kurama whined. Naruto was too caught up in the moment to respond.

"Remember Pol, Aldur said to just observe."

"I think we're already past that father."

"But it's not too late to leave now. The less we interfere, the better. "

"Would it have been better if I didn't interfere at Korim?"

The old man sighed loudly, "Fine. Do it your way Pol." A small smile graced her lips.

"Of course father," she smiled at him sweetly. She turned to the still form of Hidan. "Now, as for you," she held up her hand and commanded, "We'll just do away with that." Water appeared at his feet and swirled around before soaking into the ground. None of them had ever seen a jutsu (technique) like that before. No hand seals, pulling water from the air, it was reminiscent of the Nidaime hokage. Hidan's features returned to normal. "You may leave now," she said and snapped her fingers. Kakuzu and Hidan slumped forward like a marionette having its strings cut.

Kakuzu grabbed his partner's shoulder before Hidan could attack the woman. "We need to leave." Hidan swore before disappearing in a cloud of steam. "Don't think you're getting off easy though. Fire style: Grand Fireball Technique! Wind style: Great Breakthrough Technique!" Two masks shot out their techniques and combined to make a massive fireball. Naruto knew he wouldn't be able to do anything against that. Not without help at least.

The old man stepped forward as if he were taking a stroll during lunch time and looked up at the fireball unimpressed. "Freeze," he said simply. It wasn't a shout, or anything even resembling loud. But Naruto felt power from that word. When the old man said it, he almost felt as if he started to freeze.

The fireball looked like an ice sculpture in mid air. Time seemed to slow as the ice ball plummeted to the ground. Even Kakuzu seemed distracted due to the fact that he hadn't taken the chance to shunshin away. Naruto took the distraction given and threw a kunai at Kakuzu. Kakuzu, realizing his mistake too late, took the kunai in the stomach, just inches below where his heart would be. Instead of making any more idle threats, he decided to shunshin away.

Naruto looked around and noticed the swordsman was already gone, taking the opportunity that Kakuzu failed to capitalize on. Naruto turned to his saviors.

"How di…" Naruto remembered the manners drilled into his head. "Umm, thank you."

"Never be afraid to speak your mind boy." Polgara shot her father a look. "What?" he asked her looking as innocent as could be.

Polgara ignored her father and looked at the young blond in front of her. "You're welcome. I am Polgara, and this is my father, Belgarath." She looked at the boy and saw that he wanted to say something but held back. "What is it you have to say?" she asked gently.

"You're really pretty," he blurted out. He felt his face get red and wondered if this was how Hinata use to feel all the time.

Her smile was warm and relaxed, as if she heard the compliment a thousand times but still appreciated it. "He'll do just fine Old Wolf."

Naruto's curiosity won out over his fear and suspicions. "Why does she call you Old Wolf?" Belgarath smirked. Naruto saw a twinkle in his ageless eyes and barely heard the whisper that escaped his lips. The old man seemed to melt into the form of a large, silver furred wolf. "Whoa," Naruto said quietly. "Is that a henge or a shinhenge?" The two looked at him strangely. "Is it an illusion or a real transformation?" he elaborated.

"It is a real transformation," Polgara answered for her father. She then transformed into a snowy white owl as well. Naruto had already been a bird, and while it was fun, he decided to try a wolf like the old man.

Naruto made the hand seals, "Shinhenge." In his place was a smaller wolf with yellow hair. The silver wolf and the owl shared a look. Belgarath changed back into his human form and circled the blond wolf.

"You forgot the toenails and your tail is too short. Why do they all make the same mistakes? Change back and fix them." He got some whining and yelps in return. "You don't have to believe me if you don't want to. Try running around that tree," he pointed at a nearby tree.

Naruto took off towards the tree awkwardly. It was going to take some getting used to before he could run properly. When he got close to the tree he went to circle it and lost his balance running head first into the tree. A cloud smoke appeared and cleared to show a human Naruto rubbing his head.

"Go ahead and try again." The old man said. Naruto was glad he didn't say, 'I told you so'.

He looked up in the tree at the owl. "Is she laughing at me?" He glared at the sorceress turned owl.

"Owls don't laugh. Besides, she's seen that same thing happen more times than you can count. Now try it again, I want to hunt." Naruto transformed again focusing on the changes Belgarath told him. Belgarath gave him a once over and then relented, "Good enough." He transformed once again and they were off into the forest with Polgara silently flying above.

Naruto eventually found the perfect way of running while being a wolf. His paws barely touched the earth before they were up again. Naruto was caught up in the thrill of the hunt. He lifted his muzzle to the moon and howled. Belgarath joined him a moment later.

He also found that he could understand Belgarath while they were in their wolf form. Naruto thought of the endless possibilities of being able to understand animals.

Naruto sat in front of the fire smelling the most delicious aroma he'd ever experienced before. Naruto was extremely proud of the kill he'd made and went about repeatedly asking her if she saw it. Her response was always the same. "It was very nice dear. Make sure you clean it before bringing it to camp." Naruto had no clue how to clean an animal however. It was lucky for him that Belgarath had done it many times before.

Naruto finished eating the best meal he had ever remembered having. He thanked the two many times for their hospitality and hoped they didn't send him away for the night. His fears were quickly allayed when Belgarath adopted his old persona of the storyteller.

"The first thing the boy Garion remembered was the kitchen at Faldors Farm." Belgarath dove into a tale about a boy from Sendaria that was swept into a miraculous world filled with magic and monsters, knights and sorcerers and everything in between. Belgarath could imitate the sounds of fighting, the beat of hooves on the ground, or even the patter of rain on a roof. Polgara smiled at the wide eyes of Naruto while her hands were busy sewing the torn robe that was damaged in his fight with Kakuzu. Naruto wanted to stay awake to hear the whole story but was claimed by sleep only to dream of mystical quests and beautiful princesses.

The Sandaime hokage was having a good day. Good days didn't bode well for him. It usually meant something incredibly bad was about to happen. He had already told ANBU to be on high alert. His paperwork was getting done efficiently by the three shadow clones he had set upon them and the office was eerily quiet except for the occasional stamping sound. That silence was broken by a tapping sound on the window. Hiruzen opened the window to allow the hawk entry but noticed no message tied to it.

"Are you a summon?" he asked warily. The bird shook its head. Hiruzen frowned, _it's not possible. _"Are you Naruto?" he deadpanned. The bird nodded yes before transforming into a brown robe wearing blond. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, but what are you doing back so early?"

"Boss is still away, Lightning country last time a clone dispelled. He had a favor to ask."

_And there goes my good day. _He put a smile on his face. "What can I do for him…you?"

Naruto produced a scroll from his pocket. "I need you to put your hand on this seal." An ANBU was immediately beside him with a kunai at his neck.

"I trust that this is Naruto, Hawk. Just to put my ANBU at ease, what is this seal for?"

"It's a transference seal. It'll allow you to be the only one to access this scroll by blood and chakra. Boss didn't want this falling in the wrong hands in case something happened to me." Hiruzen placed his hand on one side of the seal while the clone did the same to the other side. The seal glowed a bright yellow for a second and then changed.

The aged hokage hesitated opening the scroll and spared a suspicious look towards the clone. Naruto held up his hands and hurriedly said, "No pranks jiji, promise." Hiruzen unsealed the items in the scroll just as Naruto tried to warn him, "But you might want to…" He didn't get a chance to finish because of the enormous pile of gold, jewels and chakra metal ore that flooded the room.

Naruto was sure his jiji was mad when he was buried under several hundred pounds. He was about to dispel himself when a smiling hokage popped up. "You want me to deposit it in your account for you?" he asked happily.

"If it's not any trouble. It it is though, I can make arrangements for a bank in fire capital."

"NO!" Hiruzen squeaked. He cleared his throat, "I mean no, I'll be glad to take care of this for you. Anything else?"

"Yeah, boss was hoping for a rundown on how his businesses are doing." Hiruzen nodded, his smile still bigger than anyone in the room remembered seeing. He was still trying to figure the taxes a deposit of this size would bring to Konoha. "Oh, and if you could have the ore delivered to my weapons shop, I'd be willing to pay for a d rank." Hiruzen nodded again, his smile widening even more if that was possible.

A thought crossed the hokage's mind. "Naruto," he said quickly before Naruto could dispel, "how did you get here?"

"I flew," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"As a bird?" Naruto nodded. "How?"

Naruto smiled his fox-like grin at Hiruzen, "magic." A loud pop was followed by a wisp of smoke. Hiruzen shook his head before diving into the gold again. The ANBU in the room, if they were honest with themselves, were definitely jealous.

A figure sat on a chair made to look like a throne. His features were hidden by shadows. The figure in front of him waited patiently for the inevitable question. "How many have we lost?"

"Seven in total goshujin-sama (master). Three to Uzumaki."

"Our attempts against the demon boy will stop for now. Focus all attempts on the second stage."

"And your orders from him?" the subordinate asked.

"Are of my concerns only," the leader snapped back. "However," he calmed down quickly, "I will only be a pawn for such a time as I see fit. His ambitions are too lofty. When the time is right, I will see his end." The subordinate bowed his head in deference exposing the loyalty seal at the back of his neck.

**A/N – I am not trying to make Naruto seem god-like in this fic. I'm sorry if it's coming across that way to you and I've definitely seen parts of that myself, but there will be plenty of Naruto screw ups to come. Thanks for reading, you guys rock.**


	9. Chapter 9

Memories from Yet to Come

**A/N –Sorry for the long delay. Whoever first said "sometimes life gets in the way" was brilliant. Either that or they put off a lot of stuff they wanted to get done. Anyways, work has been incredibly busy (good thing), I was out of commission for a few days because of a spider bite that went wrong (bad thing, no superpowers…I checked), and no computer (still going to my parents house to do this). **

*****This chapter is a little shorter than I've been posting recently (about 2800 words) and there's not any action in this, but it explains a lot about the new characters. I also wanted to point out I told everyone for the past eight chapters that there would be minor crossovers. I understand if some of you don't like that and I'm sorry I couldn't please everyone, but that's what these A/N's are for. There will be one more minor crossover that will last one chapter and the characters won't make another appearance in the story. But there is a reason for their meeting.*****

**Gemava - I also want to remedy a grievous error I made in the last chapter. I didn't credit an idea given to me and want to rectify that now. The part where Hiruzen jumps into the pile of gold in his office was originally given to me by Gemava. It was posted as a review and I pm'd asking for permission to use it which was gratefully granted. Thank you again Gemava.**

**Apollymi28 – glad you picked up on that, there'll be more about that in this chapter. **

**reginald D. Uchiha – thanks, glad you liked it.**

**Broth3r Menace – can't remember if I already answered this, but from the research I did, goshunjin-sama translates to master. **

**Sblck- I know, right? I'm just sad that the Eddings fan fics are about dead. I think a full on Naruto/Belgariad crossover would work perfectly. Think about it, Naruto's greatest strength is his will to never give up.**

**Strife666- Thanks, I really enjoyed that last chapter.**

**George17- I had this planned for a while to explain why the appeared but I was going to just mention it in passing. But your review showed me that I needed to elaborate more and I believe it worked out for the best. Thanks for posting that review.**

**Ddragon21- Unfortunately Naruto is going to go through some heartache, but he will end up with one of the suggestions in the review. Don't really want to spoil anything yet, but it'll definitely be fun. **

**Thanks for the review and hope you enjoy the chapter. **

**Finally, while this won't be a major crossover fic, I will be putting things I like from other books and series in here (they will get credit). So, for a couple disclaimers for things I don't own that will play a part (however small). Kishimoto owns "Naruto"; Eddings owns all characters recognizable from the "Belgariad" series; Tourigny owns all characters recognizable from "Thor: Quest for Knighthood"**

Chapter 9

Naruto woke with a start, his hand inching towards his kunai pouch. He was flooded by the memories from the night before but didn't relax. He stuck his head out of the tent and observed the two tents on the opposite side of the now extinguished fire pit. Snores occasionally sounded from one of the tents. Naruto had learned enough from the opposite sex to know not to even insinuate that Polgara might have been the culprit of such noises.

Naruto looked towards the lightening sky along the horizon and debated the idea of going back to sleep. He crawled back in his tent and changed out of his hippo pajamas. He decided to change his clothes from the brown robes to something else. Traveling around in something recognizable probably wasn't the smartest idea, especially when Kami knew how many people were after him.

With his new found inheritance, he bought some plain black shinobi pants that had tape around the thighs and ankles to prevent them from billowing out. He wore the standard shinobi sandals that could be found in any shop selling ninja items that made promises of indestructibility. He wore a deep orange (you knew he had to have some) short sleeve shirt and a sleeveless black zip up jacket that was open in the front with a hood. By all accounts, he thought he looked pretty spiffy.

When he came out of his tent, Polgara was already up and cooking what looked like gruel over a small fire.

"Gruel again Pol? I don't agree with Silk a lot but, you might have an unnatural fixation with gruel."

"Its porridge, Old Wolf, and you're welcome to get your own breakfast if you're not happy." She gave a pointed look to Naruto.

Naruto quickly spoke to avoid her ire. "Porridge sounds fine Pol-chan. Usually all I can make is instant ramen." She raised an eyebrow which Naruto took as a question. "Noodles cooked in broth. Food of the gods."

Belgarath gave a short gruff laugh, "I don't remember Aldur ever eating ramen, but I'll be sure to tell him about it."

As they ate their porridge, Naruto made the decision to ask the questions on his mind. He really didn't want to offend the two people that saved his life, but his curiosity usually won out in the situations. "How did you guys do those things yesterday? I didn't see any hand seals or anything." Polgara and Belgarath shared a brief look.

"It's called the Will and the Word, and it's exactly what it sounds like. You will something to happen and you give it a word. If your will is strong enough, it'll happen."

"Really? I've never heard of anything like that."

"I'd be surprised if you had. It's something I haven't seen in a long time. Very few people are born with the power to become sorcerers these days. Not to mention on a different world." Naruto's confused expression urged him to continue. "We're from a different world. Our master, Aldur and his brothers sent us to this world to investigate something."

"What was that?" Naruto asked excitedly. He loved stories with action and adventure and this seemed exactly what he'd like.

Belgarath grinned. "A long time ago, a star exploded. Now stars explode all the time, but this star exploded in a place it wasn't supposed to at a time it wasn't supposed to." Naruto looked suitably impressed and Belgarath wove his tale, ensnaring Naruto even deeper. "Everything in the universe has a purpose, and when that star exploded, its purpose wasn't fulfilled. So the universe did the only thing she could do to protect herself, she split in two. Now the universe had two different purposes and the two fought each other for uncountable years. One side eventually won and the universe was whole again." Naruto nodded eagerly, hoping to hear more of the story. "The gods of our world sent us here because something happened that might have caused another split. From what we understand, something disappeared from the universe before its time."

"Disappeared from the universe?" he asked.

"Yes dear," Polgara answered, "it's actually impossible to erase something from the universe. It's too close to unmaking something and that's the first rule in the universe. She will not allow something to be unmade that she went to the trouble of making."

"You guys keep talking like the universe is alive."

Belgarath gave him a smirk, "How do you know it's not alive? But back to the matter at hand, something that once existed at some point no longer does. We're not talking dead, or destroyed or changed but completely erased from existence." Naruto thought for a moment before he stiffened. Belgarath and Polgara caught the movement.

Naruto told them his story. He told them of his former life and the seal that sent him back in time to merge with his present self. Belgarath was fascinated when Naruto talked about seals and asked the boy to tell them more.

Naruto pulled out a parchment, brush, and ink and began explaining. Belgarath's eyes studied the drawing closely as did Polgara. When he was done, he had drawn a completed storage seal. He demonstrated by sealing his still steaming bowl of porridge in it, making it disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Father, that looks an awful lot like a…" Pol began to say before being cut off.

"It's not Pol. I'm not an expert on demon summoning, but I've spent enough time among the Morindim(1) to know this isn't the same."

Naruto blanched at the mentioning of demon summoning which didn't go unnoticed by the other two but quickly spoke up. "It isn't any type of summoning, although there are animal summonings that a person can get. All you need for this," he gestured at the seal, "is knowledge and chakra to activate the seal." That launched into another long conversation about chakra. Belgarath, despite his countless number of years, was hungry for the knowledge. He asked questions with almost child-like delight. Polgara, while more reserved, was infinitely interested as well.

Naruto felt their time together was coming to an end. He loved the company, but knew their paths were moving away from each other. He never even considered how he became so comfortable with two people in the space of a day, but it seemed so natural. Belgarath everything that he imagined a grandfather would be, funny, wise, mischievous, and a great story teller. And Polgara was amazing herself. She was beautiful, reserved, intelligent, and her cooking was nothing short of magical.

Before they agreed to part, Belgarath became serious. "I don't think any harm was done as far as I'm aware, but we'll tell our master what we found out and let them investigate further. But no more time travel." There was no KI in his warning, but Naruto literally felt the power rolling off of the old man. Before him was no longer the vagabond, or the storyteller, but a sorcerer in his full power who had lived hundreds of lifetimes. Naruto screwed up his courage, determined to not just nod dumbly.

"The juubi is a terrifying beast though. The Rikkudo sennin was considered the god of shinobi and only just barely beat him. I watched the juubi destroy a town in seconds and he was still transforming as I fought him. I don't think he's beatable," Naruto stated dejectedly.

Belgarath rested a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm eight thousand years old; I've fought against gods and demons and seen things no other person has seen. I've witnessed a god's death and a new god's birth. No one and nothing is all powerful. There are things that are stronger than gods; two that I've actually met. If the universe is torn again, there will be things that make this juubi monster look like a puppy." Naruto nodded solemnly. Belgarath patted his shoulder. "Now, I think it's time we tell our master it's time to go."

"Wait!" Naruto suddenly remembered something. He made a shadow clone and dispelled it. Another clone walked out of the tent having got the message. He handed Naruto the scroll and dispelled itself with a quiet pop. "This is the basics on sealing. I don't know if you'll ever get the chakra part down, but if you figure something out, this will get you started. Just be careful, you have no idea how many clones have blown up because of a single mistake."

Belgarath held the scroll almost reverently. He unrolled it and began reading immediately. Pol sighed loudly. "It is a gift of priceless value Naruto," she bent down and kissed his cheek causing him to turn blush deeply. She smiled warmly at him. "Thank you."

"It's no problem Pol-chan. Do you think I can try something before you leave?"

"That depends on what you want to try," she said noncommittally.

"I want to try that Will and Word thing you were talking about." She smiled gently and nodded her head.

Belgarath looked up from the scroll he was immersed in and was about to speak before Polgara beat him to it. "Just keep reading your scroll Old Wolf, I've done this as many times as you have." She moved next to Naruto and pointed at the pile of wood that served as their campfire the night before. "Picture a fire springing up in the wood. Keep the image firmly in your mind and will it to form. Your will must be strong enough to make the fire. When you think you've got it, speak the word that directs your will." Her voice was soft, playing just at the edges of Naruto's mind. It was like hearing her and not hearing her at the same time. Her voice seemed hypnotic and his mind followed her instructions unerringly.

The fire danced in his mind. He closed his eyes and leaned back from the imagined heat. He felt his will. The will to never give up, the will to get strong enough to protect his precious people, the will to become a hokage to surpass all other hokages. "Say the word," a dry voice commanded in his mind.

"Fire!" Naruto commanded. Belgarath looked up sharply and shared a look with Pol who both heard the familiar rushing sound. Naruto stared intently at the wood but saw no flames appear. His shoulders slumped forward at the failure. "Oh well," he resigned. Unseen to all at the bottom of the wood pile was a faintly glowing ember.

"Naruto," Belgarath said, "remember the first rule. Don't ever, ever try to unmake something."

"But I don't have the will and the word. You saw what happened."

"Just keep it in mind, just in case." Naruto looked suspicious, but promised to remember.

A young wolf looked on from the edge of the forest surrounding the clearing Naruto camped in, its golden colored eyes shining bright in the dark shadows of the trees. "_Everything is still on course,"_ it thought before turning and loping into the forest(2).

Danzo sat in a simple wooden chair. The desk in front of him was also simple with reports strewn about. His thoughts were anything but simple though. The fact that the weapon, err, boy knew about his sharingans was disconcerting enough. Add in the fact that he unlocked a bloodline that could make him nigh unstoppable and Danzo was truly worried. Then the boy had the audacity to tell him he was giving him a second chance. He had done nothing that condemned him to a second chance. Everything he did was for Konoha.

Well okay, if he was honest with himself, some of it was for him. But he knew that Konoha would enter its brightest age under his rule. They had the strongest ninja, the strongest bijuu, and the strongest bloodlines. They could rule the Elemental Nations and bring true peace under one banner. Dealing with Orochimaru had turned his stomach. Danzo hated traitors to Konoha above all else, but it was necessary to move forward with his plans. Danzo simply supplied some intel on patrols and the barrier seal and Orochimaru would secure the hokage spot for him. Konoha would survive an invasion, he would become hokage, and the need for revenge would ignite a war that would engulf all the nations.

Second thoughts usually meant hesitation. Hesitation for a ninja meant death, but second thoughts were exactly what Danzo was having. The boy understood his sacrifices. He sympathized while threatening. If Sarutobi had only allowed him to train the boy, then he would have molded him into the perfect weapon, and perhaps successor.

_"That foolish old monkey loves to compromise. If I can't choose a path, perhaps I'll play both sides. Damn that boy for making me doubt myself."_ He tapped his cane on the ground and a ROOT appeared next to him. "Has the Uzumaki been found yet?"

"No Dazno-sama, we tracked him to the ruins of Uzushio, but we lost the trail over the ocean." Danzo arched his only visible eyebrow. The ROOT continued, "he seems to have the ability of flight." Danzo's expression remained unchanged but inside he was both giddy and annoyed.

"Keep looking," he commanded. The ROOT nodded and disappeared in a shunshin. A smile appeared on his face when he was alone. "What surprises will you have for me next, Uzumaki?"

Sasuke had a hate list in his room. At the top of the list was Itachi, followed by fangirls, and then, oddly enough, penguins. Fan girls were the bane of his existence. His training time was always cut into because he had to ditch the hordes of girls, and yes some boys, that constantly followed him. So it was surprising that he didn't realize he was displaying some fanboy traits when he was spying on Hinata. He didn't think of it as stalking because in his mind he was practicing his observation skills that were essential to all ninja.

Hinata sat under the tree that Naruto would normally eat lunch at. The school year so far had been boring without the self proclaimed prank master. At first, the teachers were ecstatic not to have to worry about pranks every day, but they too eventually fell in a funk. There was no excitement in the class room anymore. The students tired of listening to lectures and the teachers were tired of lecturing. Without the theories being grasped however, they couldn't get into practical application. And to top it all off, Sasuke had been stalking her. Now she knew how Naruto must have felt. How did he think he would get away with stalking a Hyuga anyway?

"Oi, Uchiha, you know my eyes can see through trees, right?" Sasuke, normally cool and reserved, was sweating at being confronted by the object of his stalki…err observation. He walked from behind the tree and not having anything to say started back to the classroom. "Hey," he heard her say, "I thought you came to talk to me."

His face was flush and his heart beating fast. This wasn't like him. He couldn't like a girl, could he? He had a plan. Kill Itachi, claim several wives, have kids, kill penguins, become hokage, and outlaw fangirls. It was simple, and then this…girl had to go mess it up. With his usual anger returning he turned to face her and found it melted away. _"Aww crap," _he thought, _"this is really going to cut into my training time."_

He sat down across from the Hyuga heiress and said the only thing that came to mind. "Un." Hinata burst into loud laughter that drew in looks and glares from the people nearby. Sasuke smiled slightly and unwrapped his carefully prepared bento box. Their lunch was shared in silence but it was the most memorable lunch Sasuke had in recent history.

Hinata giggled at a thought she had. _"I wonder if the elders would have an apoplexy if I dated the little emo." _

**A/N 1. The Morindim are a race of demon worshippers in the Belgariad and Mallorean universe.**

** 2. The wolf is from the Mallorean universe as well and did something similar at the end of "Polgara the Sorceress". Many have wondered if he was just a regular wolf or if he were something more. I chose to go with something more.**

**Thank you for reading. Reviews and ideas are more than welcome.**


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